The ARC is a creative, whole-school approach designed to help every child feel safe, understood, and ready to learn.
It empowers teachers and staff with practical, trauma-informed strategies, while giving pupils opportunities to explore their emotions, build confidence, and strengthen the skills they need to thrive.
By incorporating creative arts, trauma-aware practices, and social-emotional and behavioural support, the ARC helps children grow not just academically, but in their self-awareness, relationships, and resilience — both in the classroom and beyond.
WHAT IS THE ARC INITIATIVE?
The ARC Initiative is a multi-tiered support framework that combines:
creative arts and expressive 1:1 and group therapies
trauma-responsive and holistic, needs-responsive practice
educational assessments and learning supports
teacher support
Pupil informed PDs, staff, and whole school training.
It is designed to sit gently around the existing school day, so that staff, families, and children are all working from the same baseline:
Attune to what the child is showing us.
Respond with the right level of support.
Connect learning, relationships, and regulation.
ARC is currently being piloted in a primary school setting and is designed to be adaptable to different schools, communities, and student needs.
Evidence-Informed & Creative
ARC draws from:
creative arts therapy and art psychotherapy
trauma-informed, attachment-aware practice
neurodiversity-affirming principles
educational assessment and learning profiles
EMDR-informed work where appropriate
This mix allows ARC to stay both gentle and rigorously grounded, balancing therapeutic depth with practical classroom strategies.
The ARC Origins
Sam Gummer is collaborating with Tootgarook Primary School and Deputy Head Adele Read to deliver the ARC Initiative pilot, drawing on her extensive experience in creative arts psychotherapy, education, and trauma-responsive practice. The pilot has been shaped by Sam’s work across therapeutic, school, and community settings, with a strong emphasis on relational safety, inclusion, and whole-school wellbeing.
Through this pilot, Sam is working with school staff, families, and allied health to develop sustainable, creative, and inclusive approaches for children.
