Welcome to The Storyful Way – Transforming Minds, One Story at a Time!
Current Challenges
In a world where the challenges faced by our children seem to grow with each passing day, a beacon of hope emerges – The Storyful Way is an innovative school project designed to tackle the ever-escalating mental health challenges children face, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 era.
Young people’s mental health significantly decreased during the pandemic, both in our rural area and further afield. A ‘Young Mind’ survey showed 67% of young people felt the pandemic will have a long term negative impact on their mental health. We now want to research and adapt our previous programme to address the current challenges. The local evidence of children struggling to cope as we emerge from the trauma of the pandemic is supported by widely reported statistics from the DfE and NHS which showed that in 2021, one in six children had a probable mental disorder, up from one in nine in 2017.
Furthermore, an article in the journal of the Royal Society of Medicine from March 2022 stated that ‘Children’s burgeoning mental health needs are not currently being met by the health sector. Schools and teachers provide vital support but they are buckling under the strain of the demands placed on them’.
How The Storyful Way came to be
The Storyful Way began as a response to an incident of serious bullying in our community. Sita Brand created an in-school project called The Mindful Way to encourage young people to act more compassionately and to have the courage to stand up for themselves and others.
The response to this project from both teachers and students was overwhelmingly positive. An independent evaluation showed that participant well-being improved from an average score of 44 (4 points below the national average for the age group) to 50.2 according to the Warwick Edinburgh Wellbeing scale.
The pilot demonstrated that:
- 70% of participants learned to control their anger more easily
- 78% of young people wanted to learn to stand up for themselves and 75% did so.
- 66% of young people wanted to feel happier and 77% have learned techniques to feel happier.
- 29% made new friends during the course
- 42% found it easier to talk to their parents/ carers/ teachers
However, more than anything, the pilot demonstrated that there was an endemic problem of low self esteem and poor mental health and wellbeing among our children.
The Power of Storytelling and Mindfulness
The Storyful Way is an innovative programme of storytelling, mindfulness and creative exercises designed with primary schools to encourage wellbeing and build resilience in children. The programme will support PSHE and encourage the development of resilience, a growth mindset and good mental health. As psychologist Bruno Bettelheim explains in his seminal work “The Uses of Enchantment”, stories can help listeners to find the courage to face challenges in daily life. Meanwhile, mindfulness teaches you to recognise thoughts and worries and to learn to react differently.
Our Approach
Led by visionary Sita Brand, founder and CEO of Settle Stories, The Storyful Way brings together a diverse team of psychologists, educators, storytellers, mindfulness experts, and artists. Supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation we are currently embarking on a two year research project in schools to test the programme more widely.
How can you take part
Are you a school who would like to take part in the research and be one of our test schools? Please contact Project Manager – Emma Thompson on emma@settlestories.org.uk. The programme is heavily subsidised.
Would you like to sponsor a set of workshops in a school so we can reach more children? Then please get in touch with Emma.
Meet the Team
Sita Brand – Founder and CEO of Settle Stories, is a master storyteller and trained mindfulness coach, Sita is passionate about combining both the power of story with mindfulness meditation to enhance emotional and mental health in children and young people.
Emma Thompson – is a trained primary school teacher with many years of experience in education, including middle leadership roles. She has expertise in child development, safeguarding and child psychology and is dedicated to nurturing the intellectual, emotional, and social growth of young minds.
Lynne W Bailey – is a children’s author and trained in mindfulness meditation. Lynne works for Settle Stories as the PR and Marketing Manager but also has a passion for the mental well-being of children; she has taken a special interest in The Storyful Way and is passionate that programme gets out there.
Charlotte Arnold – Charlotte is a freelance dance artist, writer, educator and project coordinator with a passion for mindfulness and movement.
Bonnie Craig – is a visual artist who works predominantly with pattern. Her work plays with the boundaries of what pattern is, exploring the balance between order and disorder.
Bryony Prichard – Bryony is an interdisciplinary artist with a socially engaged practice. She incorporates different art forms into her projects such as mark making, sculpture, movement, printing, textiles, sensory installation, interactive storytelling and wellbeing activities.
Jude Ho – is an award-winning British East Asian writer and documentary producer/director working around the themes of migration, race and gender. She is a long-term student of Thich Nhat Hanh and teaches mindfulness and yoga in primary schools
Lora Aziz – is an artist reimaging contemporary cross-cultural relationships with land and nature through wildcrafting, community herbalism, and earth science.
Sarah Hymas – is a passionate and creative writer, she has facilitated writing and creative folding workshops in schools, HMPs, libraries and museums for young people and adults.
Anthony Haddon – is the founder member of and Artistic Director of Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah. Anthony created the Company of Teachers giving teachers the opportunity to create their own theatre in education programmes, rolling out similar models in India and Germany.
Jean Gross CBE – is an education expert who has led many national initiatives aimed at improving the learning, attainment and wellbeing of disadvantaged children
The Evaluator – provides specialist creative evaluation services for charities, public sector and not for profit organisations. They craft bespoke evaluation frameworks, carry out evaluation activities and conduct honest and robust data analysis to measure your impact.
Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology, Sheffield Hallam University are peer reviewing the programme
Join us
With your support, The Storyful Way has the potential to transform the lives of Year 5 and Year 6 children across the nation, instilling resilience, fostering well-being, and shaping a brighter future for all.
Together, let’s embark on this journey of discovery, one story at a time. Welcome to The Storyful Way- where every child’s story matters.
Contact Emma to find out more on emma@settlestories.org.uk