From Care Homes to Community Centres: Creative Health in Social Care
An ageing population and rising demand for care are reshaping the future of health and social care in the UK. Yet alongside these challenges lies opportunity: creative health approaches can help people to live well. By embedding creativity into everyday care, from residential homes to community settings, creative health initiatives can help to improve wellbeing, reduce isolation, and support a more person-centred, sustainable care system.
At the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH), we define creative health as creative approaches and activities which have benefits for our health and wellbeing. Activities can include visual and performing arts, crafts, film, literature, cooking and creative activities in nature, such as gardening. Approaches may involve creative and innovative ways of approaching health and care services, co-production, education and workforce development.
Creative health has benefits that are particularly relevant to social care, and can help to address some of the pressing challenges the sector currently faces. As a person-centred approach, creative health empowers people to engage in activities that are meaningful to them, enriching quality of care and leading to improved health, well-being and quality of life. For children and young people in the social care system, creative health improves mental health and wellbeing, facilitates self-expression, fosters a sense of belonging and has a positive impact on future outcomes.
The Creative Health Review (2023), Section 3.4 – “Creative Health in Social Care” highlights the growing body of evidence showing that creativity is integral to quality care. From supporting children and young people in care to enriching life for older adults, creative health helps people to express themselves, build connections, and live well across the life course. Embedding creativity into social care is not an optional enhancement, it is a practical, person-centred approach that strengthens wellbeing, improves workforce satisfaction, and supports prevention and independence. As the Review makes clear, recognising creative health as a core component of good care will help ensure that everyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can access the benefits of creativity in their everyday lives. Read the full Social Care extract from the Creative Health Review here.
Below, are some practical and evidence-based examples of creative health in social care from the review
Plus One: Creative Pathways for Care-Experienced Young People in Derby
The Plus One initiative, delivered by Derby Theatre in partnership with QUAD, Déda and Baby People, connects care-experienced young people and their families in Derby with creative and cultural opportunities. Embedded within Derby City Council’s social care strategy, Plus One bridges the gap between the creative industries and social care, offering free access to arts experiences, creative mentoring, and pathways into volunteering and employment. The programme’s holistic approach includes performance projects that give young people a platform to tell their own stories, as well as regular creative workshops within residential care homes. Supported by creative arts therapy providers, the programme prioritises wellbeing and safety while nurturing confidence and aspiration. Recognised nationally, Plus One received the Digital Project of the Year at the 2023 Stage Awards for Odyssey, inspired by the lived experiences of care-experienced young people.
The Creative Health Toolkit
Creative Health in Social Care: Digital Inclusion in Devon
The Devon Recovery Learning Community (DRLC), featured in the NCCH Creative Health Toolkit, demonstrates how creative health can strengthen social care through digital inclusion. Co-produced with people with lived experience of mental ill health, carers, and social care staff, DRLC offers free creative courses in art, music, and storytelling that support recovery and wellbeing. During the pandemic, the programme moved online, reaching those unable to attend in person due to disability, isolation, or caring responsibilities. Evidence from participants showed reduced loneliness, improved confidence, and better engagement with care services. This model highlights how accessible, creative digital provision can promote equity, connection, and resilience—key outcomes for a preventative, person-centred social care system. Source: National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) & NHS England, Creative Health Toolkit (2025), Digital Inclusion & Innovation: Devon Recovery Learning Community.
Dance and Movement for Healthy Ageing
Dance, as an example of creative health, has become a vital bridge between health, well-being, and social care, supporting older adults to maintain independence, confidence, and social connection. Within community and care settings, dance and movement programmes are being used to improve strength, balance, and mobility while also addressing loneliness and promoting mental wellbeing. Projects such as Aesop’s Dance to Health, Breathe Dance for Strength and Balance, and English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s featured in NCCH’s blog on this topic, are now embedded in local authority and NHS pathways, demonstrating measurable improvements in health outcomes and quality of life.
This work highlights that social care is not limited to providing physical assistance or residential support, it is about enabling people to live well, safely, and meaningfully. Creative movement sessions in care homes, day centres, and community halls provide spaces where participants can express themselves, reconnect with their bodies, and build supportive relationships. As a low-cost, evidence-based intervention, dance contributes directly to prevention and person-centred care, aligning with the Government’s 10 Year Plan.
Below are further examples from the creative health sector:
Creative Manchester Research and Projects
At Creative Manchester, the Creativity, Health and Wellbeing research theme, led by Dr Stephen Hicks, brings together pioneering projects exploring how the arts and creative practice can deliver tangible health and social care benefits. Building on strong partnerships across the University of Manchester, the NHS, and local community health and care organisations, this work is generating vital evidence in response to today’s growing health and social care challenges. Projects such as Music and Dementia with the Manchester Camerata reveal the transformative power of music in care settings, while the CARE Lab project explores care as a sensory and embodied practice.
Creative Health Principles: Every Care Home a Creative Home
The Baring Foundation report, ‘Every Care Home a Creative Home’ by David Cutler, reinforces a central truth of social care: it must always be person-centred. Creativity and culture are not optional extras, but vital to quality of life, identity, and emotional wellbeing. At Appleby House in Epsom, residents work with professional artists to co-create artwork displayed throughout the home, turning corridors into living galleries that celebrate personal stories and local identity. In Belfast, Spectrum Arts partnered with care home residents living with dementia to create the Social Sofa, a mosaic sculpture depicting memories of their community. Similarly, the Complicité Theatre Company collaborated with catering students and residents into an immersive 1930s experience, combining creative engagement with sensory design.
These projects demonstrate how visual arts and design interventions support wellbeing, reduce distress, and strengthen social connection among residents and staff. Charities such as Paintings in Hospitals and Hospital Rooms have shown how curated art in healthcare settings can improve mood, communication, and quality of life, an approach now extending into social care. Creative environments encourage self-expression, participation, and pride, helping residents feel seen and valued within their homes. In parallel, access to gardens and green spaces, and opportunities to take part in creative gardening or outdoor art, provides sensory stimulation and calm, contributing to both physical and mental health.
Conclusion
Creativity has the power to make care feel more human. Whether through song, movement, gardening, or storytelling, these moments bring warmth, connection, and joy into everyday care. When creativity is part of social care, people do not just receive support, they feel seen, valued, and part of something bigger.
Author:
Radhika Poojara, Communications Officer, NCCH
