Published on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 at 2:46:20 PM

South Thornlie Primary School students embrace collaboration, communication and confidence.

This October, The Literature Centre was delighted to bring a week of Storytelling on the Road workshops to South Thornlie Primary School in Thornlie. We were pleased that in the week-long residency, the program reached over 228 students across Years 3-6.

South Thornlie Primary School students were highly engaged in activities centred on collaboration, belonging, relationships and community, led by professional artist James Foley and The Literature Centre’s Creative Learning Associates, Lise Griffiths, Aimee Simpson, Karen Campbell and Christine McInnes.

Children’s author-illustrator James Foley, best known for his award-winning picture book Stellarphant and graphic novel series Secret Agent Mole, led the residency. Inspired by the SEW-Arts framework theme of ‘connecting’, James guided students through step-by-step drawing workshops and encouraged students to think carefully about expression, empathy and perspective.

I really enjoyed myself as a teacher during all the sessions along with the students, especially drawing with James. Thank you for coming out to work with South Thornlie PS students.

- Year 4 Classroom Teacher, South Thornlie Primary School.

Throughout James’s workshops, students drew faces that represented complex emotions, such as smiling without feeling happy. A South Thornlie Year 4 student said that they learnt they were “really good at drawing” through the workshops. Students were excited to interact with James in his sessions, some asking questions about his books, how he works with publishers and where he gets ideas from.

Alongside James’s workshops, The Literature Centre’s Creative Learning Associates ran creative workshops that drew inspiration from James’s space-themed books, Stellarphant and his newest release, Amazing Astro Animals. Students eagerly wrote collaborative stories, brainstormed as a class and in small groups and participated in space-themed movement breaks.

I learnt that I am a good leader when it comes to group projects and solving problems, like helping people who are scared of being on stage.

- Year 6 Student, South Thornlie Primary School.

In groups, students were tasked with solving a space-themed problem. They were encouraged to help an alien or repair a broken spaceship. Drawing on these themes, students developed and presented their own stories as news reports or dramatic performances. They then presented these to their classes as performances, learning about the power of body language and nonverbal communication.

Students also strengthened their collaborative skills by experimenting with different group roles in performances. One Year 6 student said they learnt they were “a lot more confident sharing in front of others” than they previously thought because of the workshops.

Groups were asked to reflect on how they worked together and made decisions within their teams, sharing the strategies that worked well and how they handled any conflicting ideas. It was wonderful to see their teamwork, creativity and problem-solving grow.

- Lise Griffiths, TLC’s Creative Learning Associate.

Because of the program, surveyed students reported feeling more connected to others, with 88% of students feeling more confident sharing their ideas. All surveyed students also enjoyed the workshop activities and wanted to participate again in the future. Teachers reported that they learnt about new literacy practices to take into their classrooms, with one teacher stating, “I haven’t done drama in my class, but now that I’ve seen this, I’ll give it a go.”

This is the best incursion I’ve ever seen.

- Year 6 Classroom Teacher at South Thornlie Primary School

Storytelling on the Road supports young people’s social and emotional wellbeing, literacy skills and confidence through creative learning experiences. The program will continue to bring tailored workshops to low ICSEA schools across Western Australia, travelling to Balga High School next and embracing the SEW-Arts theme of ‘Discovering’ in Term 4.

Storytelling on the Road is proudly delivered by The Literature Centre in partnership with Healthway and The Department of Education, supporting young people’s social and emotional wellbeing through creative practice. The program is informed by research from The Kids Research Institute Australia and guided by the SEW-Arts Framework.

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