About Us
We are a children’s mental health charity working therapeutically through play and creative arts with children and young people between the ages of 3yrs and 14 yrs. Many of which have have suffered difficult life experiences which have impacted negatively on their emotional health.
​
Toucan for children was set up in 2010 by its founders Janice Watkins and Angie Beard. Combined they have over 40 years of experience working with children and families through social work, probation and the family courts, during which time they recognised the negative consequences for children who did not get appropriate emotional/ mental health support when it was needed. These consequences often had a long-term effect on the children, their families and wider-society. There was a huge unmet need for therapeutic services for children. They decided they wanted to develop an affordable and accessible therapeutic service which respected the uniqueness of each child.
​
We work through Play and Creative Arts therapy because:-
​
‘Children can play what they struggle to say, children can play to explain their way. Through play, children can discover and rehearse different ways that play can help them to express themselves, in a way that makes sense to them. This enables them to explore difficult feelings that they would struggle to explain any other way, helping them to understand and cope with difficult feelings, leading to a healthier and happier way of being’.
Our Vision
At Toucan for Children, we believe
that every child deserves the right support to navigate life’s challenges.
Our Values
Expertise.
We’re proud of the combined knowledge and diverse experience
offered by our qualified play therapists and passionate support team.
Commitment.
We’re passionate about standing by the children who use our services for as long as they need us, and have ambitious plans to extend our services to even more families.
Accessibility.
Affordability shouldn’t be a barrier in any child’s mental health journey. We are dedicated to supporting our local families so the children who need our help, get it.
Togetherness.
We believe in the power of collaboration. Together we can effect positive, lasting change.
Respect.
We want to empower our children and their families to see their innate value and embrace self-acceptance. This starts with us demonstrating inclusivity, consideration and unconditional positive regard for all our service users.