Bags of ideas to keep youngsters entertained in Doncaster this summer

The Bags of Creativity have been developed by IVE, in partnership with Doncaster Cultural Education Partnership, CAST, and Doncaster Community Arts to ensure children and young people can be creative at home, by providing everything they need in one bag.

IVE is aksi working with Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, which will be distributing the bags to the children and young people it supports.

The Bags of Creativity contain 20 specially designed ideas and activities for three separate age groups ranging from two-16.

The activities have been designed by a team of artists and Doncaster arts organisations who have provided creative ideas for young people to get involved in.

To ensure the activities and resources were appropriate, safe and high quality, staff from each group attended professional development sessions with an expert in developmental stages of childhood, so they could create bespoke activities to suit each age group.

A team from Doncaster Cultural Education Partnership came together at The Point to undertake the mammoth task of filling the bags with an incredible range of high quality resources and activity postcards.

Over three days, the six-strong team stuffed the bags with all sorts of resources, including sketchbooks, paints, modelling clay, fabric, scissors, glue, mirrors, sound catchers and a host of other things.

The trust said it had worked to identify and distribute these bags to the children and young people under its care to ensure each child can benefit from this opportunity.

James Thomas, trust chief executive, said: “Engagement with art can have a profound effect on the development of a child and young person, allowing therapeutic, personal and social benefits.

“A lot of young people often want to get into arts, but need to help to find the resources and opportunities to do so. We are over the moon to be able to work with our partners to support young people and children in need.

"We are thrilled to have received such a generous amount of these bags and would like to thank those involved.”