0
- 0
0
Autograph's award-winning Family SEND Programme
Bringing the benefits of creative play and expression to children with complex needs and their families – building confidence, easing anxiety and improving wellbeing for the whole family
We offer free, artist-led workshops every month to children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) and their families, providing 1:1 support, so the whole family can take part. Rooted in creative play and sensory exploration, artists design fun, free-flowing activities that follow each child’s interests. We plan with every family before workshops to understand their children’s needs and avoid anxiety triggers. Since 2019, we’ve run 100 workshops reaching more than a thousand attendees, supporting all children’s creativity!
We take inspiration from ideas of child-led creative play, material exploration and sensory experiences so that children have the freedom to engage with materials in a way which follows their own interests and make sense to them.
Our approach prioritises the social model of disability and aims to create an appropriate, safe environment which is welcoming and accepting of all ways of being, adapting the environment to lessen the potential for anything which might trigger anxiety or distress.
Our sessions are sensitive to participants' different needs and circumstances; all the children, including those with SEND and their non-SEND siblings, can participate in all activities – no one is excluded. We are able to do this because our learning and participation team and workshop assistants provide 1:1 support for families.
Child-led creative play sessions for all the family at Autograph's gallery in Hackney
Employed to lead and design workshops, in partnership with local supported studios
Kids, adults, carers, grandparents - all the family have access to creativity
It was so powerful to be in a space where our children were not just accommodated, but actively welcomed and celebrated”
Parent
Of parents felt workshops helped increase their child's confidence and supported their development
Felt the support offered helped to relieve anxiety triggers and improved well-being for all in attendance
Agreed the workshops supported their child's enjoyment of creative engagement
For one family, their child became easier to dress after being introduced to new textures and materials in the creative workshops; another reported their child gained confidence speaking to others.
Disabled and non-disabled siblings can create together, with every child supported to express themselves in their own way.
We are working with disabled artists to design and lead the workshops, allowing children to see disabled people represented in creative leadership roles and supporting their own ambitions.
It reduced the isolation you can feel as a parent of a disabled child”
ParentAutgraph's Family SEND Programme was developed in reponse to the needs of local families with disabled children.
Here’s what they told us:
Help keep this vital programme running! It costs £30k+ each year to deliver 22 free workshops at our gallery, with space for 100+ families. The project's current funding ends in 2026 and we're fundraising towards another year of workshops.
From 17 - 24 March, donate to the Family SEND Programme and your support will be doubled by match funding from Big Give.
And find out first when we announce new workshop dates
Join newsletter 
Exploring the politics and practice of creative programming for children with complex needs and their families
Read blog post | 5 min read
Creative play with clay! Don’t have clay? We'll show you how to make your own
See more
Photos from our special celebration event, marking 3 years of the Family SEND programme
View The programme is managed by Livvy Murdoch and led by artists Amy Leung and Immanuel Adelowo. Workshop support is provided by Anya Mustoo and Emily June Smith. We are currently working in partnership with ActionSpace to provide access and pastoral support for Immanuel Adelowo.
Previous lead artists have included Katriona Beales, Tirzah Mileham (working in partnership with Headway East London) and Ophir Yaron (in partnership with ActionSpace).
Autograph's Family SEND programme is an outcome of the EXPLORERS project, delivered by Project Art Works. EXPLORERS was a three-year programme of art and conversations, involving 12 national art organisations. The programme was informed and led by neurodiverse communities, placing them at the heart of social, civic and cultural activity.
To Lucy Keany, who was instrumental in founding the programme
Autograph's Family SEND programme has been supported by City of London Corporation's charitable funder City Bridge Trust since 2020.
Images on Page: Workshop images from the Family SEND Programme, with thanks to the attendees.
Images 1 & 2: Photographs of a Family SEND Workshop. © Jannell Adufo.
Join our newsletter and get the latest on Autograph’s exhibitions, events, open calls, digital content, books, prints and fundraising. Find out more.
Autograph is a space to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
Support our work
