Inside Out Cymru

Inside Out Cymru works across Gwent, specialising in arts and mental health. In 2024, Inside Out received a grant from the Baring Foundation for a creative wellbeing group for new Dads, one of a group of 32 grants intended to promote the engagement of men with mental health problems in creative activity.

Nurturing Dads is a two-year creative wellbeing programme delivered by Inside Out Cymru in partnership with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Flying Start and Family Support teams.

The project grew from earlier work by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which highlighted a gap in wellbeing support specifically for fathers. Flying Start recognised that dads were often experiencing isolation, reduced confidence and limited opportunities to access support or connect with other fathers. Supporting dads’ wellbeing was recognised as benefiting not only the individual, but also parent-child relationships and children’s early development. The project engaged fathers who had never previously participated in music-making. Some experienced social isolation, reduced confidence or anxiety about joining group activities, while others faced practical barriers such as transport, childcare or unfamiliar settings.

Nurturing Dads was designed to provide a welcoming, informal space where fathers could come together through music. Professional musician and music therapist Alex Lupo facilitated weekly sessions across Blaenau Gwent, supported by Flying Start Dad Support Workers who recruited participants and helped remove practical barriers to attendance. Over the first year, 22 dads attended 36 sessions, taking part in music-making, songwriting and conversation, while shaping the programme through ongoing co-design and feedback. The final evaluation report is expected in Winter 2026.

Impact and learning

Creative music-making became a powerful way of engaging fathers who might not otherwise have participated in supportive group activities. The independent Year 1 evaluation found improvements in wellbeing, confidence, social connection and parenting confidence, alongside new friendships and an increased willingness to seek support. Two thirds of participating dads had never previously taken part in a music activity, but over time the sessions became a creative space where fathers developed musical skills, explored songwriting, built confidence and shared experiences through making music together.

The project’s success relied on creativity being embedded within trusted family support services. Dad Support Workers who already understood participants’ individual needs and circumstances encouraged participation, while practical barriers were reduced through supporting transport, welcoming children and offering flexibility around attendance. Sessions took place in familiar, accessible community settings and were kept informal, consistent and responsive, with activities shaped around the dads’ feedback. Familiar facilitators, regular sessions and a predictable environment supported the development of trust, while music-making provided a shared focus through which conversations and mutual support could emerge naturally. Having Flying Start staff and resources present throughout the sessions meant that dads could be connected quickly to wider support when additional needs emerged.

During Year 2, attendance remained strong, averaging seven dads per session. Participants chose to establish a regular base at a local sports pavilion, providing a familiar community venue where creative sessions sat alongside wider family and community activities. The friendships formed through the project have continued well beyond the weekly sessions, with dads maintaining an active peer-support network.

Alongside improved engagement between Dads and the Dads Support Workers, and improved wellbeing for participating fathers, the project has supported Flying Start Blaenau Gwent’s wider approach by contributing to the development of its volunteering programme, with the project team helping to train volunteers in the delivery of group activities.

“I’m noticing that I’m finding things at home less difficult because I know I can come here and talk about the things in my life that are challenging, it’s helping.”

Participating Dad

I really enjoy this group, it gives me a bit of mental space to go back home and parent a bit more positively.

Participating Dad

“Music has these multiple, really malleable entry points… we were able to hold a group of people together who all needed to access it in different ways.”

Alex Lupo, Lead Artist