The Joy of Getting It Wrong – Why Mistakes Matter in SEND Youth Arts and Education
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 31
- 8 min read
Written by Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director
Helen champions the arts as a tool for change. Now, as CEO of RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, she mentors young people, creates pathways for them to thrive in the arts, and helps launch successful careers.
In SEND youth arts, there's an unspoken rule that mistakes aren't something to fear, they're something to embrace. Most schools teach us to get things right the first time and avoid making errors. But mistakes are celebrated in the world of creative arts, especially for students with special educational needs! They're the start of the learning process, helping students grow, explore, and truly express themselves in real and meaningful ways.
For SEND students, this is super important. In regular classrooms, there's often pressure to fit into a particular box, but mistakes in arts settings give them the freedom to find their unique voice. They're encouraged to experiment and create freely without worrying about being judged. This helps them build self-esteem and gives them the confidence to try new things without fear of getting it wrong.
Making mistakes can also lead to surprising discoveries! That wrong note or messy drawing can sometimes spark an idea that wouldn’t have come up otherwise. For SEND students, it’s a chance to learn about resilience and creativity, showing them that mistakes don’t define who they are. They’re part of the journey, helping them grow both personally and artistically.
This article helps to show how celebrating mistakes in SEND youth arts boosts confidence, fosters self-expression, and sparks creativity.
What is SEND Youth Arts and Education?
SEND Youth Arts and Education is vital to supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in expressing themselves creatively. This approach provides a space for students to engage with art, music, theatre, and other creative expressions tailored to their needs. Unlike traditional education, which often focuses on academic achievement, SEND Youth Arts focuses on personal growth, emotional well-being, and the development of unique talents. It helps students gain confidence, build resilience, and find their voice in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming or isolating.
SEND includes a wide range of needs, such as:
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Students with ASD benefit from structured creative environments that provide sensory input and the opportunity to express themselves in non-verbal ways.
Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: For students with these learning difficulties, arts education can provide a means to understand concepts through visual, musical, or performance-based methods, helping them overcome academic barriers.
Dyspraxia: Artistic activities like dance or sculpture can help students with motor coordination difficulties develop physical skills and gain confidence.
Speech, Language, and Communication Needs (SLCN): Drama, storytelling, and other verbal arts can help students enhance their communication skills in a fun, non-threatening way.
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Students with emotional and behavioral challenges can use art and performance as a way to process their feelings and express their experiences creatively.
Why SEND Youth Arts and Education Matters
1. Empowering expression
SEND Youth Arts gives students a platform to express themselves creatively, helping them communicate ideas, emotions, and experiences in ways that words alone might not allow.
2. Building confidence
By celebrating mistakes and embracing the creative process, SEND Youth Arts encourages students to step outside their comfort zones. This builds their confidence and self-esteem, helping them realise their potential.
3. Fostering inclusion
SEND Youth Arts promotes inclusion by ensuring that all students, regardless of their challenges, can participate in activities that celebrate equality. It helps create a sense of belonging both in the classroom and within the wider community.
4. Developing life skills
The arts help SEND students develop valuable life skills, such as problem-solving, resilience, and collaboration. These skills are vital not only in education but also in navigating everyday life.
5. Encouraging emotional growth
Art often connects deeply with emotions, providing a safe space for SEND students to process their feelings. This emotional growth is essential for mental well-being and personal development.
6. Boosting social interaction
Many SEND youth arts activities involve group work, helping students learn to collaborate, communicate, and build social relationships. These skills improve their interactions both inside and outside the classroom.
7. Providing a sense of achievement
The process of creating art and completing projects gives SEND students a sense of
accomplishment. This tangible feeling of achievement boosts their motivation and helps them appreciate their unique abilities.
Embracing mistakes to enhance mental health
Embracing mistakes is not only a key to creativity but also plays a crucial role in enhancing mental health, especially in young people. For children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), allowing space for errors without fear of judgment can significantly improve their confidence, resilience, and emotional well-being. In creative settings like youth arts, mistakes are seen as part of the learning process, encouraging self-expression and growth.
Seven ways embracing mistakes can positively impact mental health:
1. Less fear of failure
When we stop treating mistakes as failures, children feel less pressure and anxiety about getting things wrong. This encourages them to try new things without the constant worry of being perfect.
2. Building resilience
Mistakes teach resilience. When kids realise that errors are a natural part of learning, they develop the ability to bounce back, improving their mental strength and emotional well-being.
3. Free expression
The freedom to make mistakes in creative spaces, like art or drama, allows children to express themselves without fear of judgment. This kind of self-expression is key for mental health, as it boosts self-esteem and fosters personal growth.
4. Adopting a ‘growth mindset’
Embracing mistakes helps children adopt a growth mindset. They begin to understand that abilities can improve over time, which makes them more confident in their abilities and strengthens their mental resilience.
5. Boosting confidence
Every mistake made and overcome builds confidence. Children learn that mistakes don’t define their abilities; instead, they contribute to their growth, fostering a sense of accomplishment.
6. Encouraging creativity
Mistakes often lead to unexpected breakthroughs. A misstep can inspire new ideas and solutions, helping children approach challenges with creativity and flexibility, both important for mental health.
7. Creating a safe environment for growth
By normalising mistakes, we create a safe space where kids feel comfortable taking risks.
This sense of safety encourages emotional and mental growth, as they feel supported rather than judged.
15 reasons why mistakes matter in SEND youth arts and education
In SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Youth Arts and Education, mistakes are often seen as stepping stones rather than setbacks. Unlike traditional learning environments that may view errors negatively, youth arts provide a space where mistakes are welcomed. Here’s why embracing mistakes in SEND youth arts is so important:
1. Encourages exploration
Making mistakes in a safe environment encourages SEND students to try new things. They feel free to experiment with different materials, techniques, and ideas without the fear of being judged. This curiosity leads to more creative discoveries and personal growth.
2. Boosts confidence
When mistakes are accepted, students don’t feel pressured to be perfect. Instead of hiding errors, they embrace them. This boosts their self-esteem, making them feel capable and more willing to tackle challenges, both in the arts and in life.
3. Promotes a growth mindset
A growth mindset is about seeing failures as opportunities to learn and improve. In SEND youth arts, mistakes become powerful tools that show students that abilities can be developed with effort and practice, encouraging them to keep growing.
4. Teaches resilience
Mistakes teach SEND students how to bounce back from setbacks. Instead of feeling defeated, they learn resilience – facing challenges head-on, adjusting, and trying again. This skill goes beyond the classroom, benefiting their everyday lives.
5. Fosters self-expression
The freedom to make mistakes gives SEND students the confidence to express themselves without fear of being judged. This self-expression helps them share their unique thoughts, emotions, and perspectives, which can be empowering and therapeutic.
6. Reduces pressure
In many educational settings, there's a heavy emphasis on getting things right. However, in SEND youth arts, mistakes are part of the journey, not the end. This helps reduce students' pressure to be perfect, allowing them to enjoy creativity without stress.
7. Encourages problem-solving
Mistakes often lead to creative problem-solving. Whether fixing a drawing that didn’t turn out as expected or changing a dance move that feels wrong, students learn how to think critically and come up with new solutions, enhancing their problem-solving skills.
8. Builds emotional intelligence
Through mistakes, students become more aware of their emotions and reactions. They learn how to handle frustration, disappointment, and the joy of solving a problem. This helps them develop better emotional intelligence, which is essential for both social interactions and personal well-being.
9. Nurtures creativity
Some of the best ideas come from mistakes. When students make a wrong move or mess up a sketch, they might discover a new style or technique they hadn’t thought of before. Embracing mistakes nurtures their creativity, encouraging fresh, innovative thinking.
10. Promotes independent thinking
Mistakes teach students to think for themselves. When faced with a challenge, SEND students learn to trust their instincts and find solutions independently. This builds confidence in their decision-making and helps them develop as independent thinkers.
11. Encourages collaboration
Working together to solve mistakes can strengthen teamwork. Whether it’s in a group project or a collaborative art piece, students can learn from each other’s errors and share different ways of thinking. This builds stronger, supportive relationships among peers.
12. Helps overcome perfectionism
Many SEND students struggle with perfectionism, fearing their work will never be “good enough.” Mistakes help students realize that it’s okay not to get everything perfect, which encourages them to take risks and try again, free from the burden of needing to be flawless.
13. Builds patience
Making mistakes often requires patience as students work through problems and solutions. This process teaches SEND students to be patient with themselves, understanding that mastery takes time and that persistence is key to success.
14. Celebrates individuality
Each mistake is unique to the individual, and learning from them celebrates the diversity of thought and talent in the classroom. SEND youth arts education encourages students to embrace their journey, recognising that everyone’s path to creativity differs.
15. Creates a supportive environment
A space that welcomes mistakes is a space that feels safe and supportive. Students are more likely to take creative risks when they know their mistakes won’t be judged harshly. This positive environment encourages a sense of community and belonging, where every student feels valued.
Mistakes are often seen as something to avoid in traditional educational settings, but in SEND Youth Arts and Education, they are a valuable tool for growth. By embracing mistakes, SEND students not only develop their creative skills but also important life skills like resilience, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. This approach helps them feel more confident, express themselves authentically, and learn at their own pace, making the creative process enjoyable and empowering.
Embracing mistakes at RYTC and ESB
At RYTC and ESB, we don't view mistakes as something to fear but rather as something to embrace. In the realm of SEND Youth Arts and Education, embracing mistakes is at the heart of our approach. It enables students to grow, explore their creativity, and express themselves in ways that foster confidence and resilience. We firmly believe that in a safe, supportive environment, every mistake is a stepping stone to greater self-expression and personal growth.
Through RYTC's drama workshops, we offer a space where young people, especially those with SEND, can take creative risks without the fear of judgment. Our Improvisation & Storytelling Activities teach students to think on their feet, adapt quickly, and embrace the unexpected, transforming "mistakes" into spontaneous moments of brilliance and artistic discovery. We encourage them to express themselves freely, knowing that mistakes are part of the creative process.
Similarly, our work at ESB provides tailored educational approaches that celebrate each student's unique learning journey. We believe that mistakes are not barriers, but gateways to deeper creativity, personal growth, and self-expression.
At RYTC and ESB, we don’t just allow room for mistakes–we celebrate them. Whether it's through a character improvisation in a drama class or a new idea sparked during a creative writing session, we believe mistakes are essential for growth.
Discover how RYTC’s inclusive workshops empower SEND students through creative expression. Explore the Learning Genie Club and other empowering resources at ESB.
Together, let’s build a world where mistakes are not a mark of failure, but a sign of courageous learning and authentic self-expression!
Helen Kenworthy, Artistic Director
Helen Kenworthy’s career embodies the transformative power of the arts, from her early roles in the prestigious West End with Bill Kenwright to her impactful work in regional theatre. As manager of the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership, she created pathways for young people to thrive in the arts, with many going on to successful careers. Now at RYTC Creatives CIC and Give Get Go Education, Helen continues to inspire and mentor the next generation of theatre-makers and community leaders, offering invaluable opportunities for growth and professional development.
