“Children at Valley Infant School, along with Minister Steve Webb, local MP Lorely Burt and local MEP Phil Bennion, were transported on a magical adventure courtesy of Wizzleworld, an EU-backed community interest company.

 

Former primary school teachers Kelly Birch and Kerry Duffy founded Wizzleworld Dramatics to encourage creativity and self confidence in young children. The EU provided business mentoring and startup advice.

 

The two former primary school teachers ran a performance class for children at Valley Infant School, while the senior Lib Dem team watched and occasionally joined in.

 

The children wore masks and performed different animal roles. The story ended with a moral message, in which the children decided that the elephant should apologise to the other animals for stealing their fun.

 

The children were then guided through a relaxation session, imagining themselves as caterpillars transforming into butterflies. One young caterpillar was so relaxed he fell asleep.

 

Kelly and Kerry discussed their future plans with the Lib Dem representatives and expressed their optimism for expanding their work to other schools and groups.

 

Mrs Burt said, “I was hugely impressed, not only with Wizzleworld, but with the youngsters who evidently enjoyed the whole experience.

 

“The children practised their self-confidence and using their imaginations. They left with a great sense of wellbeing. Paolo the Parrot, for example, clearly has a great acting career in front of her!”

 

Mr Webb said, “Wizzleworld did a great job entertaining the children but teaching them at the same time.

 

“It was exciting to see how the EU is supporting enterprise and education in Solihull.

 

“I wish Wizzleworld every success for the future.”

 

Mr Bennion said, “It was good to see the team providing this specialist workshop have set up as a small business with EU support, a good example of private and public partnership benefiting children’s education in the area. I was very impressed, as was Steve Webb.”

 

Kerry of Wizzleworld Dramatics, said, “We love bringing our wellbeing story-drama to children in schools and supporting their emotional, social and personal development in a fun, exciting and unique way. Having a positive wellbeing is essential for children if they are to grow into happy, resilient empathetic adults in the future.””