Hand Of is a charity that gives children and young people unique creative opportunities to work alongside professional artists, musicians and academics. We create extraordinary interdisciplinary projects which improve attendance, enable attainment, and boost aspiration.

Projects include intensive 1 to 2-day interventions, large-scale creative projects lasting c.6 months, and weekly 1 to 1 mentoring programmes. On every Hand Of project, children and young people work collaboratively to co-create outputs together with professionals, including live performances, films, sound walks, art exhibitions and music videos.

Hand Of works with children and young people in the North East and focusses on those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Social Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH), from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds (Pupil Premium Grant, PP), or who are Looked After Children (LAC), fostered or living in local authority children’s homes and not attending school.

We believe every child should be given the chance to develop and grow into the smart young people they can be – full of ideas, able and keen to rise to challenges.

The North East has seen the steepest rise in child poverty in the UK in recent years and now has one of the highest child poverty rates in the country. We work with c.300 children and young people annually to combat the negative impacts of growing up facing profound disadvantage. Data and evaluation over the past four years is showing that Hand Of’s work is helping to transform the lives of many children and young people that we work with.