Resources

Each young person needs a different sort of support and inspiration. This is an evolving record of some of the resources that I dip into for ideas and information.

Young Minds

The junior version of Mind, the mental health charity, the website has excellent resources for teachers and parents. There is also a Parents’ Helpline.

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

This is home to the University of Oxford’s treasures and it is the UK’s oldest museum. The Ashmolean is a great place to visit because Oxford is much less frenetic than London, which makes for a gentle gallery experience. Online, the museum has an exciting Curations section where digital visitors can see how other people have curated collections of paintings and artefacts and then curate their own online exhibition. The website also lets you explore the museum by theme; it also has a series of really interesting lesson plans.

Lapidus

Lapidus International focuses on writing for well-being. It is home to a thoughtful, interesting community of practitioners and it has great resources for those who write and for those who set up writing assignments. I have been really glad to see Lapidus’s sensitive approach to the safeguarding issues that can arise during writing sessions. Frustratingly, most of Lapidus’s resources are only available if you are a member but the Facebook page is a good way to get a sense of how the organisation works.

The Royal Collection Trust

This corner of the website has an interesting range of accessible resources and I was particularly excited by the multidisciplinary opportunities presented by the ‘Science and art with Leonardo da Vinci’ resource set. I also loved the ‘Art Techniques’ activities and the way in which they offer support to young people during lockdown. My five year old friend, Gabriel, would have a happy time discussing the ‘Face Facts’ activity with his mum and I am going to email them the link right now.