Why Integrated Creative Education Matters for the Brilliantly Underestimated
- Helen Kenworthy
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Every week I meet young people who have been misunderstood not because of their ability, but because of the environments they’ve been expected to learn in. Their behaviour is interpreted long before their strengths are explored, and families are often left explaining, clarifying or trying to help professionals see the child behind the surface.
For the young people I call the brilliantly underestimated, this is a familiar pattern. They are perceptive, creative and capable, but their strengths don’t always show up in the narrow ways traditional systems measure success. If a learning environment isn’t aligned with how a child thinks, feels or processes, their behaviour becomes the focus long before anyone considers what they are trying to communicate.
This is exactly why integrated creative education matters; not as an alternative option, but as a model that finally aligns with how these young people learn.
The Cost of Fragmented Support
Many brilliantly underestimated learners navigate systems that break their support into separate parts. Their academic needs are addressed in one place, their wellbeing somewhere else, while their creative strengths are treated as enrichment rather than a central part of learning. Each service sees only a fraction of who they are. This leaves young people repeating their story, adjusting to inconsistent expectations, and rarely experiencing the steady, joined-up support they need.
In mainstream settings, this fragmentation often looks like:
A child attending literacy intervention, but the class teacher remains unaware of the strategies being used, so the pace and expectations in the classroom never change.
A young person receiving wellbeing support, yet none of the emotional regulation strategies are reinforced during lessons — leaving them dysregulated the moment they return to class.
Creative subjects being used as rewards, meaning the very activities that help young people regulate, express themselves and learn effectively are withheld when they’re struggling most.
Professionals working in isolation — speech and language therapists, SENCOs, teachers, and counsellors all assessing separately, with no shared plan or communication.
A child with sensory needs being given ear defenders, but the teaching style, transitions and environment remain the same — so the real challenges continue unaddressed.
For a child who relies on clarity, emotional safety, expression and consistency, this fragmentation becomes overwhelming. They don’t need a long list of separate services. They need one approach that sees the whole child and responds to the whole child.
Why I Created an Integrated Model of Learning, Creativity and Wellbeing
I built the Creative Pathway methodology from lived experience. I was once the child who didn’t fit the traditional mould. Creativity gave me a voice long before the classroom did, and that experience shaped my belief that learning, wellbeing and creativity should never exist in isolation.
Young people thrive when teaching adapts to them, when creativity supports confidence, and when wellbeing is embedded into the learning process. This belief became the foundation of our integrated model — and the reason Education Selection Box, RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC) and Give-Get-Go Education work together as one connected ecosystem.
How Integration Works in Practice
Bringing Education Selection Box, RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC) and Give-Get-Go Education together allows us to deliver one integrated model based on:
Tailored teaching
Creative pathways
Wellbeing-led support
Hands-on skill-building
Here are a few examples of what this looks like across the partnership:
A child builds confidence through drama at The RYTC, using role-play to practise communication and self-expression, which then supports their ability to engage with reading and writing during ESB sessions.
A neurodiverse learner finds emotional safety through creative exploration at The RYTC, and because the team shares insights with ESB, teaching is adapted around their sensory and processing needs — creating a consistent experience across both settings.
A young person who felt disengaged in mainstream school discovers a spark during a film project with GGGE, and ESB uses that interest to create personalised learning tasks linked to storyboarding, sequencing and literacy.
A learner struggling with anxiety builds regulation through movement-based drama at The RYTC, and these strategies are then reinforced during academic work with ESB — creating continuity instead of mixed messages.
A student takes part in a collaborative project across all three organisations, where they rehearse a short performance at The RYTC, strengthen literacy skills by scripting and planning with ESB, and learn practical production skills through GGGE — seeing their creativity, learning and confidence come together in one complete pathway.
Together, these approaches create an environment where every part of a young person’s development reinforces the next.
Why Integration Matters for the Brilliantly Underestimated
Brilliantly underestimated learners do not lack potential.What they lack is an environment that sees how capable they truly are.
Many struggle not because of inability, but because traditional classrooms move too quickly, rely heavily on compliance, or expect learning to look one specific way. Creativity — their natural language — is often overlooked. Wellbeing support is provided separately from academic work. And progress is measured by performance rather than growth.
Integrated creative education changes the experience entirely. It allows young people to learn in ways that feel safe, relevant and achievable. Confidence grows naturally. Expression becomes easier. Emotional regulation strengthens. And learning becomes something they can return to, rather than escape from.
A Joined-Up Experience They Can Trust
Across our partnership, integration looks like:
A child using drama to build confidence before moving into literacy work.
A young person finding regulation through creativity, allowing them to stay connected during personalised sessions.
A disengaged learner discovering motivation through film or hands-on projects that make learning meaningful again.
Because every part of the model works together, progress becomes steady, sustainable and genuinely aligned with who they are.
Reimagining Education for Those the System Wasn’t Built For
Our goal is not to replicate mainstream education.Our goal is to reimagine what education can be for the young people it was never designed to support.
Integrated creative education is not another service. It is a model that adapts to the child, values their creativity, embeds wellbeing into every step, and builds pathways that make sense for them.
This is how brilliantly underestimated learners rediscover confidence, identity and capability — on their terms, at their pace, in their way.
Want to Learn More About What We Do?
You can explore our integrated Creative Pathway model and the work across our partnership here:
Education Selection Box (ESB)
RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC)
Visit: https://rytc.co.uk/
Give-Get-Go Education (GGGE)
Together, these organisations form one connected pathway supporting young people through personalised learning, creativity, wellbeing and hands-on skill-building.
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Download our Positive Thoughts Book — created to help young people build confidence, calm and resilience.
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