Not ‘good enough’: Cultural interventions deserve serious attention

Millie’s Journey began with a problem that wasn’t technically ours to solve. We’re a district council-run cultural service – social care, health and early years development are the remit of other tiers of government.

But we started to hear from local schools and partners that an increasing number of children were arriving at reception classes without the emotional or practical readiness to thrive.

They were anxious, unable to take turns, frightened of unfamiliar environments, some not even able to properly hold a pencil. Many hadn’t had access to early years settings during the pandemic – or had additional needs their families didn’t yet fully understand.

We couldn’t ignore it. Because although it may not be our ‘problem’, supporting our residents to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives absolutely is our remit – and this felt like a problem we could do something about.

Best practice

So, we scoured the sector for best practice, spoke to colleagues and designed Millie’s Journey – a five-part sensory storytelling programme for children identified by support services as being ‘not ready’ for school.

Based around a fictional character preparing for her first day, each session focused on a different developmental milestone: using scissors, following instructions, saying goodbye to a parent. We delivered the programme in a welcoming, creative space using props, sensory prompts and playful role-play techniques – but also with picnic lunches and informal conversation.

This wasn’t just about preparing children; it was about empowering parents too.

Our goals were simple but ambitious:

• Build confidence and reduce anxiety in children starting school.
• Support families who may not have accessed traditional early years provision.
• Reframe The Amelia Scott as a space of support, not just education or entertainment.
• Embed wellbeing and prevention at the heart of our cultural programming.

And the outcomes spoke for themselves. Every participating family reported improved school readiness in their child. Parents told us they felt more confident, not just in their child’s progress but in their own ability to support them. Families who had never walked into a museum or library before were suddenly coming back, not for the programme, but because they now felt they belonged.

Early intervention

Internally, the programme has transformed our practice. Sensory storytelling is now embedded across multiple areas of work, from our neurodiverse programming to how we welcome younger visitors.

More importantly, it’s changed how we think about our role. We’re not just here to inspire or educate. We’re here to intervene early, to support wellbeing, to address community needs before they become crises.

Too often, cultural interventions are treated as fringe or supplementary – ‘nice to have’ but not a necessity. But more and more evidence points to the cost-effectiveness of creative health approaches as preventative public health tools.

It costs far less to run a creative, supportive programme like Millie’s Journey than it does to provide intensive support later in a child’s life, once they’ve entered the education system already struggling.

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The Upper Atrium at The Amelia Scott. Photo: The Amelia Scott

Making a measurable difference

What makes Millie’s Journey different isn’t just the methodology, it’s the intent. We designed it with impact in mind, working with educators, SENCOs and local early years professionals to ensure the outcomes were meaningful.

We weren’t interested in running an activity for activity’s sake; we wanted to make a measurable difference. And because the delivery team included artists, educators and cultural staff working side by side, it allowed us to blur the boundaries between sectors in a productive way.

The challenge, of course, is structural. In most areas, culture is funded by local authorities, but health, education and social care sit elsewhere. Until we see true, whole-system approaches to wellbeing and early intervention, programmes like Millie’s Journey will continue to be hard to fund, even when they demonstrably work.

Local government reorganisation may help. Or it may make it more complex.

Culture matters

One of the most striking lessons from the project was how siloed public services can be – not by intention, but by design. Every service operates under different performance measures, budgetary constraints and accountability structures.

Yet families experience life as a whole, not as a series of departmental responsibilities. If we want to make real change, we need to start with this recognition: that public services work best when they work together.

That’s why culture matters here. Cultural spaces are often the most trusted, non-stigmatising environments in a community. You don’t need a diagnosis to walk into a museum. You don’t need a referral to attend a storytelling session.

This universality makes us uniquely placed to deliver early interventions that are inclusive, light-touch, and preventative – often before a family even realises they need support.

Smart use of resources

As a publicly funded institution, we have a duty to provide best value, and that should mean more than simply costing less. It should mean making the smartest possible use of the resources we have. Innovation, responsiveness and real community value should be central to how we define efficiency.

Recent research from Arts Council England’s Leading the Crowd report reminds us that public investment in culture doesn’t crowd out other sources of funding; it crowds them in. When you show belief in cultural institutions through subsidy and partnership, you attract the support of others.

But if you strip away that foundational support, the whole system risks collapse. Programmes like Millie’s Journey need more than admiration: they need infrastructure.

Supporting risk

The ingredients for something like Millie’s Journey exist in many cultural venues across the country. But they only come together in an environment where risk is supported, where collaboration is the norm, and where excellence – not just adequacy – is the target.

At The Amelia Scott, we’re not interested in ‘good enough’. We’re interested in what’s possible. And if we want to meet the complex needs of our communities – especially in the face of rising demand and shrinking budgets – then we need to back culture as part of the solution, not treat it as an afterthought.

Cultural institutions can be proud custodians of history, yes, but they can also be laboratories for wellbeing, engines of inclusion and testbeds for innovation. Millie’s Journey is just one example. What’s possible in your space?