The art therapy program is led by a registered art therapist, AThR (ANZACATA), who conducts sessions throughout the academic year with students across the entire school. Our art therapy program integrates a variety of creative theraputic processes. These methods are designed to create a supportive and empowering atmosphere where students can develop overall wellbeing, support personal growth and empower individuals within a nurturing educational environment.

What makes our Art Therapy program unique?

• Foster creativity: Artistic expression offers students deeper insights into their own identities and interactions with the world. Through various school projects and art competitions, students share creative ideas, develop mutual respect and build meaningful connections.
• Enhance emotional expression: Art therapy serves as a powerful tool for students to communicate and explore emotions they might struggle to verbalize. By using symbols and images, students can express their feelings in a more comfortable and effective manner. Students can discover more about themselves and the way they are in the world. 
• Enhance Social Communication: Both individual and group art therapy sessions offer opportunities to develop social skills. Collaborative art strategies teach turn-taking and problem-solving, while exposure to different creative mediums supports experiential learning in a nurturing environment.

Our Visual arts program is an important part of our School and is highly valued by staff and students. We look to interweave curriculum based learning with a range of engaging therapeutic practices and strategies. Our art room is a place where students can express themselves creatively in a number of multimodal ways. Within this special space, students are encouraged to create, regulate, explore and thrive amidst a range of art resources, sensory materials, and structured holistic experiences. The room is set up to accommodate students’ sensory processing needs and originality. Our philosophy is aimed towards making sure all students have the ability to demonstrate their individual artistic drives and be immersed in experiential learning which includes music, movement, sensory regulation and artistic play-based learning.

Each year we showcase our students work at the Noble Park Community Show with other schools and also have our own art show for our families and school community. The students’ artwork is displayed across the school and we have several permanent installations that the students and staff have collaboratively made.