Supporting SEMH Needs with Creative Arts Therapies and Parent Play

The recently published Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) on identifying and supporting children and young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs highlights both opportunities and challenges for schools.

The report confirms what many educators already know:

• SEMH needs are best addressed through whole-school, needs-based approaches rather than labels.
• Effective support requires multi-informant assessment—bringing together perspectives from teachers, parents, and children.
• Classroom strategies such as structured teaching, targeted praise, and engagement opportunities can enhance self-regulation and participation.
• But there are gaps—particularly around internalising difficulties (like anxiety and withdrawal) and pupil voice.

At One Education’s Creative Arts Therapies team, we see these findings echoed in our daily practice. Our work in schools shows how targeted, creative interventions can address these gaps while building on existing strengths within teaching staff.

Creative Arts Therapies: Giving Children a Voice

Children experiencing SEMH needs often struggle to put their feelings into words. This can lead to frustration, isolation, or behaviours that mask underlying distress.

Our therapists use drama, art, play and music to help children explore and express emotions in safe, creative ways. This approach:

• Reaches children who struggle with internalising difficulties, who may otherwise go unnoticed.
• Supports self-regulation and resilience.
• Strengthens connections with peers and adults, improving both relationships and readiness to learn.

Just as importantly, we work alongside teachers, providing reflective practice groups and training that embed SEMH-sensitive approaches into classrooms. This ensures that progress made in therapy feeds back into the wider school environment.

Parent Play Programme: Strengthening Home-School Collaboration

The REA highlights the importance of multiple perspectives in SEMH assessment and support. Parents are vital partners in this process, yet many need more guidance in supporting their child’s emotional needs.

Our Parent Play Programme is designed to support parents in using play as a tool to build connection, trust, and joy with their child. Sessions help parents:

• Develop confidence in playful interaction.
• Strengthen attachment through shared creative activities.
• Gain insight into their child’s emotional world.

For families needing a deeper level of support, we also offer Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP)-informed work. This helps parents attune more closely to their child, co-regulate strong emotions, and foster a more secure parent-child relationship.

When schools commission this work, they see the impact ripple outwards: children feel more secure at home, more settled in school, and more able to access learning.

Why Schools Benefit from Commissioning This Work

By combining Creative Arts Therapies with Parent Play and DDP-informed approaches, schools can:

• Address both externalising and internalising SEMH needs.
• Strengthen relationships between children, parents, and teachers.
• Align with the REA’s call for whole-school, sustainable practice.
• Ensure pupil voice is central, through creative, non-verbal means as well as dialogue.

Supporting Children with SEMH Needs Together

The REA makes it clear: mainstream schools need more than strategies for behaviour management, they need joined-up, creative, and collaborative approaches.

By commissioning One Education’s Creative Arts Therapies and Parent Play Programme, schools can close the gaps highlighted in research, ensuring every child with SEMH needs is supported not just to cope, but to thrive.