Children are at the core of all we do. They’re in the driving seat of their own therapy which has child-led goals and evaluation. So it’s entirely fitting that we give them a voice in shaping our service too. We have a number of young ambassadors – most prominent is William who with his mother, a trustee until summer 2020, joined our board to give a child and family perspective. He also lent his name to a fundraising appeal – Not Just William – highlighting the experience of children living with chronic conditions who often feel invisible as they have no obvious physical systems but can suffer greatly. William and other children were instrumental in our 2020 re-brand as they strongly identified with our red teapot and argued persuasively that it should be kept but made more child-friendly. 

It was a natural progression to establish a Young Ambassadors Group, now taking shape, made up of current service users and others who’ve benefitted previously from Teapot Trust art therapy and want to “give back”. They feed their ideas to our Art Therapy Projects Manager and, in turn, our trustees.  

We also have a Service Advisory Group which reports to the board of trustees. New members are sought – parents, representation from patient advocacy groups, community partners, clinicians and multi-disciplinary clinical nurse leads – to work closely with our Art Therapy Projects Manager and two members of the board of trustees, one of whom is an experienced art therapist. If you’d like to serve in this way, please email [email protected] 

Finally, our art therapists are key in providing insights into emerging needs and themes. They work closely with core staff to enhance our services. Listening to our stakeholders is what has shaped our effective response to the pandemic.