Breathe Magic for Mental Health in Pupil Referral Units

We were honoured to work in partnership with the Anna Freud’s Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC) team, who we commissioned to evaluate the impact of Breathe Magic for Mental Health (BMMH) – our creative, magic-based programme designed to support children’s mental health in primary Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), an alternative education provision for children and young people who cannot attend mainstream school which may be for a range of reasons.

As demand continues to grow for effective, engaging and inclusive mental health support for children and young people, this evaluation explored three key questions:

whether BMMH is associated with improvements in mental health;
how professionals perceive the programme’s wider impact;
and what factors help or hinder delivery.

Building on the robust foundations of our award-winning Breathe Magic Intensive Therapy Programme, Breathe explored the use of specially selected magic tricks to engage the young people in a playful and creative understanding of the power and impact of body language, storytelling, performance skills and self-belief. The project was delivered in two separate pupil referral units in London across one academic year and was evaluated by CORC through a mixed-methods approach.

Magic – an inclusive and aspirational tool for improving children’s outcomes

The evaluation demonstrated that BMMH within PRUs made positive changes for the majority of the children who took part, supporting  communication, confidence and sustained engagement. These positive outcomes extended beyond workshops into other contexts, with the benefits being transferred to the mainstream school setting, supporting the aims of a PRU.

For children who may rarely experience success in school, mastering magic offered a meaningful and inclusive sense of achievement and pride.

The message [a lot of our children] receive… is that they are failures. What we try to do here is tell children they’re either winning or they’re learning. This is the first project I’ve seen that does that in a way that’s really gentle but quick. The change around has been quite fast.
PRU Teaching Staff Member

Four broad outcomes were identified and in the evaluation logic model, which were:

Improved confidence and self-esteem,
Enhanced communication skills,
Improved problem-solving and resilience,
Improved learning behaviours.

The findings of the evaluation provide evidence for each of the outcome areas, with the strongest evidence being for improved confidence and self-esteem, and improved communication skills. The benefits were described as being transferred to the mainstream school setting, with improved attention and engagement being seen there in addition, suggesting an impact beyond the programme.

PRU staff highlighted not only what changed, but how quickly, with one PRU staff member noting that outcomes they would usually expect to see over a full academic year were visible within a single term. The evaluation showed a statistically significant increase in reported social and interpersonal skills, as well as self-regulation.

77%

77% of children showed improved confidence and ability to perform in front of others; 64% showed improved engagement.

As a novel, inclusive and aspirational medium, magic was a useful tool for improving outcomes for children, especially for those who may not view themselves as successful in more traditional school subjects. The programme offered children the opportunity to engage in a new learning experience, alongside their teachers in a safe environment which had a levelling effect, meaning everyone started at the same skill level.

PRU staff highlighted that meeting professional Magic Circle magicians helped to widen children’s horizons, introducing them to a new skill and unconventional positive role models, opening up conversations about future possibilities and careers beyond those they had previously imagined. PRU staff described children as excited to attend and visibly happier during sessions.

Read the summary report:

https://www.corc.uk.net/our-work/case-studies/evaluating-the-breathe-magic-for-mental-health-programme-a-pupil-referral-education-provision-to-inform-learning-and-implementation-for-future-delivery/

Generously funded by

Magic can make people feel happy. It makes me feel good.
PRU Student

Looking ahead

This external evaluation by Anna Freud’s CORC team has deepened our understanding of how creative, skills-based interventions can support children’s wellbeing in complex settings.

We’re proud of the learning generated through this partnership and are excited to put them into practice as we continue to shape, strengthen and build evidence for the impact of our Breathe Magic for Mental Health programmes.