The Starfish Advocacy Project
Helping children find their voice, build confidence, and thrive in school
S – Speaking up
T – Telling our stories
A – Accepting who we are
R – Recognising our feelings
F – Forming friendships
I – Inspiring one another
S – Seeing our strengths
H – Helping our community grow
The Starfish Project is a school-based programme that empowers primary-aged children with special educational needs, and social or emotional challenges, particularly those at risk of social isolation, to develop their speaking, listening, and self-advocacy skills.
Through targeted pathway workshops led by trained facilitators, children learn to build communication, confidence, and emotional resilience to support a successful transition to secondary school.
Why Starfish Matters
Many children struggle to express themselves clearly — whether due to speech, language and communication needs, social anxiety, or past experiences that have affected their confidence. This can impact:
- Classroom participation
- Relationships with teachers and peers
- Behaviour and emotional wellbeing
- Feeling seen, heard, and understood
Starfish gives children the safe space, structure, and support they need to build these essential skills and have a voice in their school life.
“The facilitators we have with Starfish are so skilled at listening and understanding what the children’s needs are and are able to match their needs, it’s a win for everybody involved.”
Antoinette Goldwater, Head Teacher
“Starfish has been hugely beneficial to us at school and to all the children that have taken part. The children are able to express themselves more clearly, it’s been brilliant.”
Elizabeth Graves, Deputy Headteacher/SENco
Meet the Starfish Team:
To take part in the project
If you would like Starfish to run in your school please contact Kavitha Vijithakumar to discuss it at kavitha.vijithakumar@epandc.org.uk