THE PRINCESS OF WALES LAUNCHES AN INTERACTIVE TRAIL TO SUPPORT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN UNDER FIVES
National Portrait Gallery, London WC2
Tuesday 4th February 2025
The Princess of Wales has joined a group of four- and five-year-old school children at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) to launch a new project from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood aimed at supporting young children in the development of crucial social and emotional skills.
The interactive trail is based on the new Shaping Us Framework and has been developed by the Centre for Early Childhood and the NPG, of which the Princess has been patron since 2011. The aim of the framework is to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of social and emotional skills across society.
Pupils from All Souls CE Primary School in London are the first children to take part in The Bobeam Tree Trail, which saw them journey through the gallery using portraits as the basis for a range of activities that enable them to use and develop different social and emotional skills.
The trail is based on a magical tree, which has grown inside the National Portrait Gallery. All that is known about this rare and unusual tree, which has beautiful, colourful leaves, is that it thrives when surrounded by stories. The children are asked to help the Bobeam Tree by taking part in activities around the gallery to discover the stories of people through portraits – listening to audio recordings, using props, exploring facial expressions and finally, by thinking about their own lives, feelings and thoughts while creating a self-portrait. At the end of the trail, children can choose to feed their portrait to the tree, so it grows big and strong.
Working with @earlychildhood to launch the new #ShapingUs framework.
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 4, 2025
The Bobeam Tree Trail is just one example of how organisations can empower children to thrive emotionally and socially. With initiatives like this at the @NPGLondon, the foundation is laid for the next… pic.twitter.com/DZx1npmfOa
