With cases of Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) in young people on the rise due to a variety of increasing mental health challenges and residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have curated a selection of activities that can be used to support learners facing anxiety-based challenges.
These activities have been broken down into 3 approaches: Preventative, Social and Safe Spaces.
We hope you find the selection of resources below helpful for your setting.
You can also find a selection of resources focusing on calm, creative processes in our Arts and Wellbeing collection.
Preventative Activities
Schools can implement strategies to promote wellbeing and prevent/support early signs of EBSA.
Preventative activities can be used to ground learners in the moment. By focusing attention on the ‘now’, learners will be enabled to tune out additional noise that they might be facing from thoughts surrounding anxiety and worry.
These exercises can be introduced at any point in the day to help learners connect their head, heart and hands.
3 Exercises to explore mark-making and sound
playing with perspective
Drawing to the Slow Rhythm of a Metronome
Movement Maps
Drawing Hands
Social Activities
Social activities can help learners to feel more integrated and comfortable in their community spaces.
Having space and time within the day, for example through an art club, without the pressures of targets or overwhelming social interactions can help learners to build resilience.
Here you will find some resources that can help learners build connections with their community, in small ways.
Adapting AccessArt: Stories and Faces
Our Creative Community
Responding to Place
Collage Streets
Graffiti Floor
'Safe Space' Activities
For learners experiencing high levels of anxiety who feel overwhelmed and need to take themselves away from the classroom environment, it’s important that they have a place to go.
Here are some activities you can use in more urgent cases to help learners unwind and keep their hands busy whilst they process their emotions.
3 panel drawing challenge
worry dolls
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