SUPPORT CREATIVITY OF CYP'S

Evidence, approaches and theories about the benefits of creativity for the wellbeing of children and young people.

Creativity is the ability to challenge, question and explore. It involves taking risks, playing with ideas, keeping an open mind and making connections where none are obvious. Encouraging creativity in children and young people is useful for many reasons, including: developing confidence; developing good relationships with those they are being creative with; finding out what their talents and strengths are and increasing their positive emotions. The creative process helps them flourish by teaching them about who they are, what they love and what they can give to the world. Creativity is often more about the process, rather than the actual product. With children, it is useful for them to focus on the purpose and importance of the creative process as opposed to the outcome.

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Being involved in creative activities is fun and absorbing for children. Evidence suggests that it helps children to have positive experiences and develop important characteristics and abilities such as:
• Appreciation of different ways of looking at the world.
• Collaboration – being keen to work together as a team.
• Communication – developing better communication through talking, listening, writing or pictures[1].
Ofsted have evidence about creative partnerships and the benefits of creativity for the well being of children and young people. They praised creative partnerships in 2006 for helping to improve pupil’s personal and social skills. It also gave the teachers, school leaders and creative practitioners more positive attitudes. The program changed pupil’s attitudes and behaviour, and the demonstration of creativity approaches to their work.

Howard Gardner’s theory talked about multiple intelligences which include linguistic, logical, mathematical, musical, spatial, naturalist and bodily – kinaesthetic intelligence. He believed that people only seem to be creative in one or two domains or areas rather than genuinely creative. This is why children benefit better and more positively by encouraging them to be more creative in everything they do.

The Reggio Approach believes that children are driven by curiosity and imagination. Reggio considers early infancy to be a distinct developmental phase in which children demonstrate an extraordinary curiosity about the world. The expressive arts as a vehicle for learning are of central importance in then Reggio Approach. Children are inherently expressive and creative and use their imagination to explore and understand the world they live in. Reggio believes focus can be on the process of learning not the end product[2].

There are many outcomes for children that will be positive if the professionals working with the children and families can share and agree upon the way they might assess, plan and implement for the child. Both the children and their parents can be involved in any plans to ensure that the child can achieve their potential. Anyone working together be that a team of two or larger will know that different opinion or ideas is known to be beneficial, For example: If a child has speech problems - it may be more than just mechanical, it may be that a child is developmentally behind, so for the child, a speech and language therapist (SALT) may be insufficient, it could be their environment - what is their home life like?[3]

The potential benefits of different types of creative activity

To be creative means having an imagination and applying it to various projects or ideas[4]. There are many benefits of creative activity for children and this can differ with the different types of creativity. One benefit is that most of the time a creative activity can help children with other areas of their development. For example creative movement allows children to express themselves and let off steam if they need to and children are also developing their gross motor skills, balance and co-ordination. Music can help children to gain confidence and also help them to work together. Singing and playing instruments can help children to communicate and can also help their speech[5].

Creative movement allows children to express themselves through dance, music and even by how they move around. Creative through modelling helps children gain confidence and helps with fine motor skills.

Creative role play, the children can be very creative in the role play and they will take on the roles of their parents or play schools were one will be the teacher and others will play the part of one of their friends this builds up confidence, friendships and how they see us as adults.
Creative writing, children can use storytelling and be very creative with making up their own, one child who brought a poem into class which he wrote on holiday had it read out during assembly because he had been very creative in linking it with his holiday and the sounds and sights he saw.

Art, mark making, drawing and painting can benefit a child’s fine motor and pincer skills, we use many different materials including paint, crayons, chalk, sticker’s pencils and they can draw, paint, finger paint and much more and they feel a sense of achievement[6].

The difference between formal and informal creative activity

I see this one as formal being regulated and with specific aims, briefs, guidelines and rules. I.e. taught classes and sessions. In practice I see this as adult led or planned activities with a common outcome or goal.

Informal I see as subject to an individual's interpretation and own personal preferences. For example, give children the same ingredients to cook with and they are unlikely to use them in the same ways and flower arranging, how many arrangements are identical when made by different people (a child or young person may prefer cutting stems shorter and arranging in a basket whereas another may prefer to arrange using longer stems in a taller vessel.

So I think the difference is that one is limited in outcome and potential and has the potential to be unique and subject to individual creativity.[7]

Formal creative activity I would say is highly structured programmes designed to promote certain skills and with very specific outcomes in mind. Design and make something concrete to a rather specific brief.

Informal is much freer - and the outcome rather more unpredictable - and ideally should be less inhibiting. In reality if it is in an educational context that is rather easier said than done.

In architectural training for example most creative activity is formal - but occasionally one might be called upon to illustrate a concept - one brief we had was to convey "Spirit of Liberty - any medium" - I made a mobile of birds - with one in cage[8].

The importance of encouraging children and young people to recognise and value creativity.

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Creativity is about expressing ourselves. It is about trying new things and new ways of being. Creativity involves being imaginative and original. It is sometimes thought that only certain people are 'creative', and that to be creative you need to have an unusual talent. However, this is not the case - each one of us is capable of expressing ourselves creatively in some area.

Creativity is a way of thinking and being which can be expressed in many areas of life, for example, science, business, maths and cooking. We can all be creative in our own way.

Creativity is the ability to challenge, question and explore. It involves taking risks, playing with ideas, keeping an open mind and making connections where none are obvious
Creativity has been defined as having four characteristics:

It involves thinking or behaving imaginatively.
The imaginative activity is purposeful - it is directed at achieving a goal. For example, you might imagine a baby polar bear feeling the cold, but this is just an idea – turning this idea into a story, or a poem or a picture or even just a conversation, is being creative.
The creative process is original - it involves ideas that are new to the person being creative. The ideas may also be new to others.
The outcome of creativity is of value - it provides a solution to a problem or it is useful or it provides enjoyment to the creator or to others.

With children, it is useful for us to focus on the purpose and importance of the creative process as opposed to the outcome. The goal is the process of writing a story or coming up with an invention or creating a picture, etc. The outcome of a creative project does not have to be worthwhile for anyone else to read or look at, although of course it may be very worthwhile[9]!

It is important to encourage children and young people to recognise and value creativity to enable the them to make decisions by themselves, to learn from their mistakes and to be able to learn to make choices. This may be from choosing which materials to use in craft, from choosing how to dance to a piece of music and making their own musical instruments. It allows the child to be able to express themselves and to be able to think about new ideas and encourages the child to try new ideas and things[10].

The benefits of creativity

Being involved in creative activities is fun and absorbing for children. Evidence suggests that it helps children to have positive experiences and develop important characteristics and abilities such as:

· Appreciation of different ways of looking at the world

· Collaboration – being keen to work together as a team

· Communication – developing better communication through talking, listening, writing or pictures

· Concentration – focusing on what they are doing

· Developing good relationships – working together and making new friends

· Discipline – developing self-control through a requirement to practice (for example: some artistic activities, such as playing a musical instrument, need practice)

· Emotional intelligence – being able to express emotions

· Empathy – understanding what it can feel like being someone else (particularly through role play drama activities)

· Imagination – bringing ideas to life and adding excitement to their world

Creativity helps children and young people to see creativity and self-expression in a positive light, children and young people learn to value own talents and skills and those of others, development of self-esteem and sense of achievement can be transferred to other areas of life Encouraging children or young people to explore their opportunities for creative activity: for example help children and young people relate creativity to everyday life experiences and events egg leisure activities, schoolwork, community projects, charity fundraisers, explain how one creative skill can be linked to another e.g. music and dance, poetry and song lyrics, listen carefully to ideas of children and young people and offer constructive feedback [11]

Potential resources to support children and young people to take part in organised creative activities

There are many resources which can support children and young people to take part in organised creative activities. Potential resources to help support the children taken part in organised creative activities include access to a range of suitable resources and materials like:

1. Raised garden bed in the outside area with compost, spades and seeds with watering cans.
2. CD for the children with a selection of musical activities, such as movement and action songs, action rhymes and story CDs with books available to read along with the CD.
3. Story sacks, to enable the child to re-enact in their own way with props a story.
4.musical instruments, including drums, shakers, tambourines, xylophones, boom whackers, triangles and recorders, to enable the children to express themselves
5.Paper, pens, paint, scissors and different texture papers, materials and other scrap items. Boxes to junk model.
6.Large cardboard boxes and tubes, enabling the children to use them in imaginary play as anything they want them to be, such as a bus, a boat, a plane etc. 7.ribbons and scarfs to allow the children to dance to music using the ribbons and scarf to express themselves.
8. Using the ICT equipment to use computer programs and games.
9. Baking and cooking and preparing fruit snacks, such as biscuits or fruit kebabs
10.Circle spots to use as stepping stones and create...[12].

Also needed are indoor and outdoor space; time and opportunity; sensitive, supportive interactions from adults, encouragement to children or young people who are taking part in organised creative activities: help identify what went well and what could have been done differently or achieved more successfully[13] .

The importance of encouraging carers to support children and young people’s creative activity.

Creative development has greater impact when its principles are shared and equally valued both in the setting and within the home environment[14] .

Parents and carers are a child's one constant. They have ongoing opportunities to support children in their creativity and creative learning which fills the gap between what goes on in professional, regulated establishments and what goes on in children's home environments. Parent's approach and feelings towards creative activities are what will engage or disengage children from wanting to explore freely - children are susceptible to the feelings parents express about different activities and will be aware that there are particular aspects or whole activities that please and cause upset to their parents, this has the potential to inappropriately influence what they choose to do or the type of interests that they elect to follow[15].

Therefore carers can be in a good encourage children to recognise the importance of creativity. They can do this by helping them to use their imaginations to solve problems and see things in different ways. Which will also allows them to focus on any problems they may have and learn to express themselves in different ways. Carers can provide the materials, (music, recipes etc) vocabulary and support for creative play[16].

The importance of spending creative time with children and young people and the benefits that can result.

Imaginative creative activities engage a child's imagination and inspire his thoughts and perceptions. Reading, for example, helps him to experience a world outside of his own, and he can express that world in drawings and paintings. Problem-Solving Creative activities present opportunities to problem-solve, challenging a child's thinking, expanding his perspective and rewarding his initiatives.

Skill Development Creative activities can help children build both fine and gross motor skills. Games such as tag and relay races help children develop their gross motor skills, while painting and drawing strengthen fine motor skills. Bonding Time When parents and other interested parties work with children on creative projects and activities, they strengthen their relationship by spending quality and invested time together.

Teamwork Creative group activities teach children how to work together toward a common goal, building both their individual self-confidence as well as their ability to contribute as a member of a team.[17]

Therefore spending creative time with children and young people is important because it has positive impact on all round development of child or young person for example developing teamwork skills, bonding with adults and peers, developing problem-solving skills, thinking skills, supports emotional development and self-esteem .This actively encourage children and young people to initiate their own learning and make choices and decisions as appropriate to their age and abilities.

It also gives the adult a chance to make use of everyday opportunities (both planned and spontaneous) to develop creative thought and expression in child or young person by asking appropriate questions to extend and support child’s curiosity and thinking. More so supporting children and young people to recognise how creativity can be used in all aspects of life by helping children and young people recognise links between creative activity and everyday experiences[18].