Local children’s author Samantha Meghawry (previously known as Samantha Williams) and art therapy coach runs the Little Star Design Studio in Dartmouth.

With support from St John the Baptist Primary School, back in January, she secured funding of £1500 from Dartmouth United Charities to run her course aimed at supporting emotional regulation and mental wellness through creativity.

Samantha said: “It has been a huge success and was met with glowing feedback from both children and their families.

“We are planning to run the course twice more to further help more families attending the school.”

Many of the children who attended the sessions have special educational needs and parents reported noticeable improvements in emotional awareness, creativity and calmness at home.

Amber Freeman (parent) said:

“This has been such a positive experience.

“It has made home life much easier>

“My daughter is able to identify her big emotions and can calm down much quicker using the tools we learnt from Sam, the lovely thing is that we now both enjoy doing crafts together at home.”

Mrs Todd (parent & teacher) shared:

“A fantastic course that myself and three children thoroughly enjoyed. It allowed us the opportunity to communicate emotions through creative activities. We are grateful to have had the chance to take part. Thank you Sam!”

Before writing this course Samantha spoke with Mrs Hamilton the headteacher about the need for more creativity in schools and the rising concerns about childhood mental health. She had the idea to bring in the parents as well to help foster parent and child bonding and was very excited about the whole idea.

Mrs Hamilton and her staff were instrumental in the running of the course providing support at every point.

Samantha continued: “I was given help by staff who attended each session including Mrs Hamilton who was able to speak directly with parents strengthening relationships between home and school.

“All the staff at St John's have mental health training and once a week they have a fantastic play therapist, Sarah Knight, who gave me some great advice that helped me to tailor the course to the families.

“Mrs Hamilton goes above and beyond to support families in the Dartmouth area.

“The school has twice the national average of SEN children but still manages to provide a nurturing environment for all children and families to get a wonderful primary education in a beautiful part of the country.

“I think what makes this course different from other arts and crafts courses is that I created a 'Parent Pack' for each week with a follow-up activity for parents to do at home with their children.”

Following the course's success, Sam hopes to bring the Little Star Arts and Crafts for Well-being programme online to be able to offer it to more schools across the region and is currently taking enquiries from schools, PTAs and local authorities.

She also hopes to open her own Art Therapy Coaching Studio soon to help local people on an individual basis.

To find out more please, contact Sam at [email protected]