The Hummingbird Project

Some wonderful feedback below from pupils at Atherton St George’s CE Primary School, who recently completed the six-week Hummingbird Project, exploring topics such as gratitude, kindness, character strengths, resilience, mindfulness and hope for the future.

The programme at Atherton St George’s was delivered by our fantastic sessional facilitator Lucy Platt, and the pupils created these beautiful posters to share what they had enjoyed and what they had learned.

Their comments say so much about the impact of the project. One pupil said that: "My favourite was when we did the Hula Hoop Challenge, best thing I have done in school and makes me want to come to school more." Others told us:

💚 “Hummingbird helped me a lot with being calm.”
💚 “You will feel calm and happier.”
💚 "You will love to do this and it will keep you calm."
💚 “It helps you develop mind skills and figure out plans for the future.”
💚 “You get to say what you are thankful for.”
💚 “I liked going to my happy place.”

A huge thank you to Atherton St George’s for welcoming the Hummingbird Project, and to the pupils for such thoughtful and colourful feedback.

We were delighted to attend the : Our Future, Our Voice at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester today, an inspiring event centred around children’s voices and experiences.

Speakers included Caroline Simpson, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and Dame Rachel de Souza, Children's Commissioner for England. Both spoke powerfully about the importance of listening to young people on issues affecting them, including AI, online safety and democracy. The event was accompanied by delightful performances from Oldham Youth Choir (pictured below).

Caroline Simpson shared examples of local initiatives shaped by children's voices, including , (https://beewellprogramme.org/) and Our Pass (https://ourpass.co.uk/), which offers free travel to 16-18s in Greater Manchester. The latest findings show that hope and optimism among young people in Greater Manchester has risen since the pandemic, but recognises that significant challenges and inequalities remain.

This really resonated with our work through The Hummingbird Project. In the Hummingbird sessions, pupils explore themes including gratitude, kindness, resilience, character strengths, growth mindsets, hope and optimism. Our evaluation shows especially strong improvements in pupils’ levels of hope (measured using the Children's Hope Scale) after taking part.

Dame Rachel de Souza spoke about the launch of , her new national survey asking young people what it's like to grow up in England today and what they want childhood to look like in the future. She hopes to hear from one million children. The survey is open here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/

One of the key themes was human connection. Dame Rachel noted that in previous research, one of children's biggest worries was having friends. In a world where so much of life is now viewed through screens, the need for human relationships feels more important than ever.

She also mentioned democracy and young people’s readiness to take part. With plans to lower the voting age to 16 before the next general election, many young people could be eligible to vote for the first time, yet polling shows high levels of uncertainty about whether they would vote or how they would decide.

The most moving part of the event was hearing from two of the Children’s Commissioner’s young ambassadors. Both were extraordinary speakers. Annabel, 17, spoke about losing her leg to osteosarcoma as a teenager, undergoing extensive medical treatment, and going on to play football for England in the Women’s Amputee World Cup in Colombia.

Tamar, 19, spoke about experiencing instability as a child, being moved between foster homes and not feeling heard. She now uses her voice to speak up for care-experienced children, while also studying at Oxford University.

Their stories were reminders that young people are not simply “beneficiaries” of services, but leaders, advocates, and agents of change.

Our two fantastic MedEquip4Kids runners, Christine Cornock and Ed Banham-Hall, reflect on their experiences of the TCS London Marathon 2026.

https://www.medequip4kids.org.uk/2026/04/29/tcs-london-marathon-2026/