Shine
Shine - a creative partnership to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing in Leicester
Shine, a three-year collaboration between Curve and the Randal Foundation, is a groundbreaking arts and education project that aims to address the mental health and wellbeing crisis amongst young people in some of Leicester’s most disadvantaged communities.
Shine will be led by Curve and the Randal Foundation, along with a steering group including former Secretary of State for Education Baroness Morgan of Cotes, MP for Leicester South Shockat Adam, Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group and Professor Katie Normington, Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University and Jonathan Ashworth CBE.
By working in collaboration with theatre practitioners, therapists, academics, teachers and young people, the project will explore the impact of drama-based activity as a tool to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
The programme is supported by actors and founders of Matriarch Productions Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters, who are Patrons of Shine.
Weekly sessions for the Shine programme began in October 2025, with 250 teenagers from five Leicester city centre schools – Fullhurst Community College, The Herewoode Academy, Sir Jonathan North College, Soar Valley College and The City of Leicester College – all part of the programme.
“Since the start of the programme, all students have reported doing things they hadn’t done before” – Research from De Montfort University’s Dr Lyndsey Bakewell, FHEA
“100% of teachers have seen an increase in student resilience so far” – Research from De Montfort University’s Dr Lyndsey Bakewell, FHEA
“100% of teachers saw some increase in student confidence and management of their thoughts” – Research from De Montfort University’s Dr Lyndsey Bakewell, FHEA
Throughout the programme, researchers will be gathering evidence about how drama can support teenagers’ mental health and wellbeing.
We hope this will inform mental health and education policy at a national level.
To find out more and stay up to date with the latest findings from the programme, please email learning@curvetheatre.co.uk
Shine Panel Event
In June, we hosted a panel event to reflect on the impact of the first year of Shine, our three year programme to improve the mental health and wellbeing of local young people via drama-based activities, in collaboration with the Randal Charitable Foundation.
Hosted by Geeta Pendse, the panel included our Chief Executive Chris Stafford, Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL from The Randal Foundation, Shelley Smith from Shine’s therapeutic partners at Sunrise Wellbeing, Velisha Jethwa, Lead Teaching Assistant at The City of Leicester College, one of our Shine schools, and researcher Dr. Lyndsey Bakewell from De Montfort University.
The event was attended by Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, who visited Curve as part of her roadshow for The Big Future Survey to speak to participants from our Shine programme and parents and grandparents at our Little Curve Sessions. The survey asks children about the changes they want to see in their communities, their biggest concerns and their hopes for the future.
If you’d like to take part in the survey, find out more here.
