Every child learns differently. At Be Creative we support young people with a range of learning differences and SEND profiles, creating space for them to thrive in their own way.
Both Emma and Richard are neurodivergent, and creativity has always been central to how they understand the world.
Richard has spent more than 35 years as a professional sculptor and maker, with work exhibited across the world. He has a natural gift for showing young people who have spent years feeling like they’re “not good at things” that creativity isn’t about perfection — it’s about curiosity, exploration and problem solving.
Emma’s path began in the NHS before redundancy became an unexpected turning point. At the same time she was navigating the education system with her own neurodivergent son, watching him slowly lose confidence in an environment that simply wasn’t built for him. When she gave him the freedom to build, make and explore creatively, something shifted. His anxiety reduced. His curiosity returned. Creativity became the bridge back.
That insight — combined with Richard’s decades of creative expertise — became the foundation of Be Creative Cornwall. Not a school recreated in a different building, but a space where young people feel safe, understood and free to discover what they’re truly capable of.
Understanding comes first, solutions follow.
Theory matters less than what actually works.
Long-term commitment beats quick fixes every time.
Sometimes young people don’t need fixing — they simply need a different environment to thrive and be the best version of themselves. That belief sits at the heart of everything we do at Be Creative.
Everything we do is rooted in the understanding that creativity is not a subject. It is a way of thinking, communicating and making sense of the world. For many of the young people we work with, it becomes the bridge back to learning, confidence and themselves.
We hold space without judgement. We move at the pace of the child, not the system. And we stay — through the difficult days as much as the breakthroughs.
Emma and Richard built this from nothing
Creative director
She sees what others miss and makes it real
Strategy lead
He builds the systems that let ideas breathe
We're looking for people who care about craft
Whether you are at the beginning of your diagnosis journey or looking for a more creative approach to support, we are here to walk with you.
Creativity has this uncanny ability to reach places inside us that words simply cannot.
From the outside, PDA looks like refusal. Inside, it feels like drowning.
ADHD brains are wired differently, but here’s the bit the world forgets: