Clear Sky Children's Charity works with schools to provide early, age appropriate Play & Creative Arts Therapy services to vulnerable children when they need it most. 

 

The children we support (usually between 4-12 years old) experience bereavement, bullying, family breakdown, parents in prison, parents with substance abuse issues, parents with mental health issues, traumatic experiences (e.g. car accident, fire etc.) and domestic violence. 

 

We have contributed to a number of research studies this year but we are yet to see the full impact on children and young people’s mental health due to the current Coronavirus pandemic.  Despite this, we are already seeing an upsurge in demand for our services; particularly our work with new parents and babies who have suffered from a lack of ante-natal support. 

 

Working primarily with schools across Oxfordshire, our team of fully qualified therapists deliver our frontline therapeutic services including one-to-one or group Play & Creative Arts Therapy. Play & Creative Arts Therapy gives children and parents a safe space to enable them to explore past or present traumas to work towards becoming happy children who love life and enjoy school. 

 

We have continued to grow our services despite the Coronavirus crisis, delivering a vital part of schools’ efforts to support children through this difficult and confusing time. Alongside our face-to-face interventions, we have provided new resources and tools for parents to use at home with their children to help them to understand their behaviour and support their needs. 

 

Our training courses have enabled us to reach over 200 professional practitioners in the past 12 months, and furthermore we have made developments to enable our courses to be delivered digitally. Our Institute for Play and Attachment goes from strength to strength and has provided professional services to members from all over the UK and across the globe.