Acting Safe in Hanwell

Tie-Dye Drama is a London-based arts organisation that uses drama as an engaging and inclusive way to support and inspire communities. Our work focuses on building confidence, nurturing well-being, and encouraging creativity.

We’re delighted to be delivering this project in collaboration with Oaklands School in Hanwell as part of the Safer Ealing initiative.

Update on the project following its completion on 17/6/26:

We delivered a series of interactive safety workshops for 60 Year 3 pupils at Oaklands School in Hanwell. The project focused on helping children feel safer in parks and public spaces, reflecting concerns raised directly by the pupils.

Before delivering the workshops, we ran an interactive feedback session with a pupil focus group to understand their experiences and concerns about safety in their local area. This created space to listen to what mattered most to them. Their input shaped the direction of the project, highlighting a clear need to focus on staying safe while playing outside and navigating public spaces such as parks.

We worked with 4 x Year 3 groups, delivering 1.25+ hour, discussion-based workshops. Sessions explored real-life situations such as playing safely in parks, what to do if approached by a stranger, staying with trusted adults, and recognising safe versus unsafe situations. Activities included quick discussions, agree/disagree movement tasks, and group role-play, where pupils created scenes showing both safe and unsafe choices. This helped them think through consequences in an age-appropriate and engaging way.

The workshops increased pupils’ awareness of how to stay safe in outdoor environments and gave them practical strategies they could apply in everyday situations. Many demonstrated a clearer understanding of boundaries, identifying trusted adults, and how to respond if they felt unsure or unsafe. Pupils were highly engaged, often sharing their own experiences and learning from each other.

I learned how effective interactive, drama-based approaches are for younger pupils. Year 3 responded particularly well to imaginative role-play and clear, relatable scenarios. Keeping activities active and varied was key to maintaining focus and supporting understanding. I also observed that children already have emerging instincts about safety but benefit from structured opportunities to explore and practise them.

I plan to continue developing and delivering these workshops, adapting them for different age groups and settings. There is strong potential to build ongoing relationships with schools and expand into related topics such as online safety and friendships, helping to reinforce key messages over time.

Advice to other organisations:
Start by listening to the children you are working with. Building in pupil voice at the beginning ensures the content feels relevant and meaningful. Keep sessions practical, interactive, and age-appropriate, and create space for children to contribute their own ideas and experiences. Even small, focused projects can have a lasting impact when children feel heard and empowered.