Over the past 18 months, Alder Hey Children’s Charity have been proud to support the Creative Pathways programme at Alder Hey, an innovative Arts for Health project which is currently supporting children and young people at Alder Hey by offering them access to bespoke one-to-one creative activities to complement their clinical treatment journeys.

One young person who has had a transformative experience thanks to the Creative Pathways programme is thirteen-year-old Alfie, who for the past ten weeks has been visiting and spending one-to-one time with palaeontology expert David Roberts, more affectionately known as Dino Dave, at the World Museum in Liverpool, an opportunity made possible thanks to our Arts for Health teams’ connection with National Museums Liverpool through the programme.

For Alfie, dinosaurs have always been a self-confessed obsession, as from as young as three, his gran remarked that he has said he wanted to be a palaeontologist when he grew up. His encyclopaedic knowledge of all things prehistoric is one that his mum Lindsay said has been nurtured from a young age.

“He knows things that I could just never get my head around”, said Lindsay, when we caught up with her, Alfie, and Dave at the museum during their final session together. “Everyone thinks that their child is special, but when I see and hear the things that he knows in his head, I really believe that mine is. He has always been able to name all the dinosaurs and their bones, even correcting mistakes in the museum and from teachers in school.”

While we spoke, Dave and Alfie got to work, observing and discussing Dave’s impressive collection of fossils, and engaging in academic discussion.

Lindsay said: “Since first coming to the museum with Dave, I have seen such a positive change in Alfie’s personality. He is now enthusiastic about learning and researching, which has reflected positively into his schoolwork. His confidence has grown so much in such a short space of time, as he now often looks to actively engage in conversation, whereas before he could shut off quite easily. His passion for dinosaurs has given him a new outlook on life, to the point where he can see himself seriously considering palaeontology and scientific research as a potential career path. I’m so proud of the progress he has made through the Creative Pathways programme and cannot thank Dave and the team at Alder Hey enough for the opportunity.”

Reflecting on the sessions over the past ten weeks, Dave told us: “This was fantastic opportunity to share my enthusiasm with a fellow enthusiast and also be able to show off World Museums fantastic dinosaur replicas. Alfie is such a bright and well-read young person that it was really easy to communicate ideas across and bounce ideas off of him. Alfie certainly seems to have gotten something useful from these sessions. As for my part I have found it incredibly rewarding to be able to share my knowledge in a way that helps a young person build the confidence that they really should have in themselves.”

When asked what his favourite part of the sessions with Dave has been, Alfie enthusiastically responded with “all of it!”. Seeing his face light up puts such as smile on Lindsay’s face, as she said this was a stark contrast compared to the young boy who first came to the sessions just under three months ago.

Hari Parekh, Clinical Psychologist (Pre-Registration) at Alder Hey Fresh CAMHS, told us: “Since beginning his Creative Pathways journey, I have seen astounding changes in Alfie’s personality as a consequence of this work. He is motivated to complete his studies, with the ultimate aim of getting himself onto an undergraduate programme and following his ambitions in palaeontology, which he wasn’t before. His confidence exudes from him, and his overall self-belief has shown a dramatic improvement. This project has shown that focusing on the interest, passion, and love that the young person has for something in their life can naturally bring change that stays with them through their life’s journey.”

Following on from the session at the museum, Dave and Andy, his colleague at World Museum, were recently kind enough to join our Arts for Health in our hospital atrium for an open session of all things fossils! The event was enjoyed by staff, children, and families alike, with many commenting on how fascinating and engaging the session was. 

The Creative Pathways programme makes such a difference for children and young people like Alfie at Alder Hey. We would like to send our warmest thanks to Arts Council England for providing a generous grant and funding the programme at the hospital, as well as Dave and the team at National Museums Liverpool for providing such invigorating sessions for our children and young people. Thank you all so much for the difference you make at Alder Hey!