What We Do
We run After School Clubs in East Brighton, Moulsecoomb, central Brighton and Worthing. We host multi-sensory, highly immersive residencies in primary schools as well as themed projects for young people working alongside teaching staff and service providers to offer them unique creative experiences. We publish and broadcast their work, be it a radio show, a graphic novel, a soap opera, a travel guide or an anthology of poetry and produce resources and masterclasses to encourage young writers to let their imaginations roam. We work with cultural partners to provide a platform for young people to have their voices heard and their stories shared.
Click here (and then on Community People) to hear Nikki Shaill, our Learning and Engagement Manager, talking about our work on Seahaven FM.
After School Clubs
In addition to our three clubs running in Brighton, we’ve lately been working with Bourne Primary school in Eastbourne and the Laurels Primary School in Worthing.
Our After School Clubs are free so everyone can take part, although we prioritise places for children who may not be able to access these opportunities elsewhere. We meet every week during term time offering free, captivating, creative writing workshops for children from years 3 - 6, experimenting with all kinds of writing, from poems and stories to journalism, script-writing and comic books.
Our projects have included Brighton & Hove’s first travel guide written for children by children, an audio tour exploring homelessness in our city, and a poetry anthology exhibited on Brighton & Hove Buses electric fleet.
Projects and residencies
We regularly develop projects in collaboration with schools, community groups and cultural organisations looking to engage their pupils or local children in wrap-around learning or unique creative experiences. Each project is determined by the ambitions of the partner organisation for their children and young people or a community event into which the creative writing will feature.
Be it coaching teachers in our methodology so they’re equipped to do ongoing extra curricular work with pupils, dressing a designated space for a magical residency that an entire primary school can experience or doing focussed work with a group of children with specific wellbeing needs, we will shape a project to tease out the creative strengths of each child. We work with professional writers and tap into creative networks to find illustrators, film makers, photographers and graphic novelists who coach groups in their specialisms, enabling them to author amazing work that they can be proud of. Sometimes our partners have the resources to commission us, sometimes there’s just a massive appetite to make a project happen and we can work together to secure the necessary funding.
Youth Board
As a child and young person led organisation, we are currently developing our Youth Board who will advise our aims and ambitions to help nurture the next generation of young writers. We’re always keen to hear from young people who’d like to get involved and shape our future.
The Young Writers Collective
The Young Writers Collective is the umbrella under which projects, workshops and events for young people sit and provides a space for them to connect with other writers. The aim of the collective is to foster collaboration and community among young creatives and support them in continuing to pursue their passion for writing. We orientate work around themes and issues that resonate with young people including the environment, identity, migration, heritage, mental health and wellbeing, inviting them to develop stories and unpick perspectives through a variety of written forms.