Effects of a school-based creative dance workshop on the self-esteem and school wellbeing in children with SEND

The study examined the association between participation in a six-week school-based creative dance workshop and self-esteem and school wellbeing in n = 46 primary school children with varying levels of Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND): 20 children did not received support for SEND (no-SEND), 20 children received SEND support (SEND), and 6 children had an Education, Health and Care Support Plan (EHCP) indicative of more complex SEND. The children completed questionnaires that measured self-esteem and school wellbeing before and after the delivery of the workshop. Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed a significant improvement in self-esteem post-workshop across all groups after controlling for workshop attendance. There were no significant differences in changes in self-esteem by level of SEND. School wellbeing did not change significantly for any group post-workshop. The findings suggest that creative dance workshops may be a promising approach to supporting aspects of mental wellbeing, such as self-esteem, in primary school children including children with SEND. More research is required to understand how creative dance programmes can be tailored to support school wellbeing.