September 2025 – Centre for Creative Education.
Children do not leave their experiences at the school gate. Many arrive in classrooms carrying stress, fear, and unspoken trauma — and teachers are often the first to notice when learning becomes difficult. In response, Baratang Initiatives facilitated a six-day HAPPy training for pre-service teachers at the Centre for Creative Education, offering practical, art-based tools to support emotional regulation, connection, and learning.
The training centred on embodied and imaginative learning — using movement, gesture, story, singing, rhythmic play, and visual art to explore how trauma lives in the body and how it can be expressed safely, without re-traumatisation. Rather than talking about trauma, participants experienced how creativity creates distance, safety, and meaning.
One student reflected on the atmosphere created through these practices:
“Sitting in that circle gave the class a sense of calm and togetherness, like we were about to begin something meaningful.”
Storytelling emerged as a powerful container for reflection and growth. Working with narrative structures such as the Hero’s Journey allowed students to explore challenge, resilience, and transformation symbolically — building confidence in using voice and body as tools for communication. As one participant shared:
“Drama became a safe space for reflection and emotional release… shaping my narrative helped me recognise my own resilience and growth.”
Rhythm, song, and playful movement helped participants experience how regulation and connection can be restored in a group — essential conditions for learning. These simple practices showed how classrooms can become calmer, more inclusive spaces where children feel seen and supported.
By the end of the training, many students described a shift in their identity as future teachers. One reflected:
“I now see myself not just as a future educator, but as a guide who can help children find their voices and stories through artistic expression.”
This HAPPy training reaffirmed the power of the arts as essential tools for education and wellbeing. When teachers are equipped with creative, embodied practices, classrooms can become spaces of safety, expression, and resilience — for both learners and educators.
About the author
Baratang Initiative
A dynamic non-profit organisation responding to the crises in South African schools. Our mission is to positively change the face of education by supporting the growth of healthy school communities; addressing trauma and supporting learners to become healthy, caring and capable human beings.