-
1. Young people are experts
At the heart of all our narratives is the idea that young people are the only participants who know how to unlock the secrets and solve the problems presented by the games and activities. This reinforces self-esteem and independent thinking and builds on the idea that young people are active citizens as opposed to passive ones, encouraging the confidence needed to be agents of change. -
2. Young people enjoy complexity
Within the context of creative play, young people can be given the dignity of being able to engage with complicated concepts. Although a full grasping of subjects such as entropy or nuclear physics cannot be understood by young children, they react in a hugely positive way to being introduced to them and it helps shape a wider perspective for all their learning in school. -
3. Young people thrive within game formats
From collecting stamps in their HoFT passport and winning badges and medals to solving a complex mystery, young people are able to enjoy the benefits of unbridled imagination while still perceiving all that is happening within a clear gaming framework. At all times, the structure of the game is adhered to faithfully. -
4. Sustainability, happiness and the handmade
Our activities celebrate the pleasure to be found in making things. Whether working individually or as a group, young people are encouraged to practice the kinds of practical arts and crafts skills that are being made obsolete by current consumerist society. -
5. Multiple intelligences need to be recognized, celebrated and exercised
HoFT activities are designed in such a way that all strengths and weaknesses of a young person are recognized and exercised equally and activities are differentiated carefully. All engagements by young people are celebrated and encouraged equally (but at no time is praise given just for the sake of it). We are completely inclusive and also strive to provide events and activities for young people from the least privileged backgrounds. -
6. Create activities and resources that compliment learning in school and at home
Although HoFT activities and resources are designed to compliment the primary curriculum we feel that the HoFT experience should be carried on within families at home too. For this reason, we provide resources for families as well as for schools and make all efforts to support families in continuing with creative learning.
Ethos
House of Fairy Tales provides the sense of an endless universe of play and learning that has only one limit — the extent (or daring) of a young person’s imagination.
We achieve our aims through our six key tenets.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE TENETS
We know that what HoFT provides for young people has an immediate and long term impact not only on their academic life but also on their sense of self, their confidence within the wider world, their ambitions and aspirations, their relationships with others – both young and adult – and ultimately, their relationship with the world at large. The latter is, of course, the ultimate HoFT activity. One for which there are no badges or medals but instead, the ultimate accolades: happiness and well-being, empowerment and enablement, innovation and ingenuity.
