Swindon arts partnership for children ‘unable to flourish’ in school 

Revolution Performing Arts (RPA) has announced a partnership with specialist tuition service Hunt Scholars to create alternative provision for children with varied needs.

The two organisations will work together to support young people with non-traditional educational needs or those who may have found that school is not for them.

Revolution@HuntScholars will run initially from North Swindon, accepting referrals from local schools and support organisations and working with home-educating families, who are invited to make contact directly.

“We plan to offer a bespoke package to children who for many reasons have been unable to flourish in the school system,” said RPA’s founder Fi Da Silva-Adams.

“Academic education works best when a person feels part of a community of shared values, feels their skills and contributions are important and that their experiences are validated. We wanted to create a safe space with the right environment for resilience to develop and self-esteem to grow.”

Sessions will be tailored to help young people integrate into the wider community, as well as to reinforce skills across the curriculum, “linking them back to education in a way which feels relevant and attainable for them”, she added.

Ellie Hunt, a qualified teacher who runs Hunt Scholars, described RPA’s work as “naturally exuberant and joyful”.

“It is a place where children feel accepted, not ‘othered’, so that they can have the confidence to be themselves,” she said.

Other local providers primarily use sport to support young people with differing needs, she said, “so the time is right for an art-based package”. 

“We will use drama to develop emotional literacy such as understanding what body language may look like. Dance can help children who need movement breaks because they can’t sit still for long. By trying circus skills a child might master balancing a peacock feather on their finger and take that confidence forward into a maths lesson.”