Welcome to MBN Arts! Discover more about our provision and services throughout our website, and if you have any questions, our team will be happy to support you.
Let’s begin your creative journey today!
Nurturing creative minds for brighter futures
MBN Arts is a Creative Arts Alternative Provision, Post-16 option and Exam Centre based in Bournemouth, providing a supportive and inclusive environment for young people aged 8 to 25 who are Neurodiverse or facing life challenges. We provide personalised creative and educational pathways that enable young people to thrive, build confidence and engage meaningfully with their learning.
We work both independently and in partnership with local authorities, schools and other educational providers, ensuring young people can access learning in a way that suits their individual needs. Creativity sits at the heart of our approach — a tool that enables young people to express themselves, develop emotional resilience and grow at a pace that feels right for them.
Our provision includes creative programmes, academic support, SEMH development and opportunities for young people to explore future pathways such as further education, creative industries, community engagement and creative enterprise. Our aim is to support each young person to grow creatively, emotionally and educationally, and move confidently toward their next steps.
MBN ARTS also provides other creative services including larger projects for schools and youth organisations and commissions by our professional Artists and Designers.
Grounding & Emotional Awareness
Resilience & Self Regulation
Ownership of Options
Worth & Wellbeing
Tailored & Trusted
Health & Happiness
GROWTH Strategy
Our ambition is to achieve GROWTH with each young person in a way that is meaningful to them. This strategy supports children and young people to develop balance and resilience — emotionally and within their education — while creating opportunities for self-discovery. It also helps them build the essential life skills they need as they transition into adulthood and navigate their individual pathways.
Who We Support
We support young people aged 8–25 who benefit from creative, flexible or bespoke approaches to learning and wellbeing. This includes young people who are:
Our aim is to provide a safe, inclusive and responsive environment where every young person feels understood, valued and supported to make meaningful progress.
“Being creative has given me the confidence to try.” – ALFSTAR
Creativity and expression, the spark for them to succeed!
Each young person learns differently, so we tailor our approaches to make learning receptive and effective for individuals and groups. Our programmes help develop the skills needed for adulthood, further education or reintegration into mainstream settings. Through our creative pathways, we build transferable skills that support independence, social engagement, wellbeing, health and future employment.
Classroom Transferable Skills
Wellbeing Skills
MBN Arts offers innovative, creatively centred, tailored educational and wellbeing provision, for individuals and groups, based around the creative arts and other life development pathways.
Find out more about our subjects and pathways by clicking on the icons
Programmes & Qualifications
At MBN Arts, we offer a range of creative, academic and wellbeing-focused programmes designed to support young people with diverse needs. These include creative mentoring, academic tutoring and pathways that help young people build skills for future education, employment or self-employment in the creative industries. All programmes are tailored to enable each young person to progress and thrive.
Young people who wish to work towards qualifications can study a variety of accredited options with us, including GCSEs, Functional Skills, A Levels, Arts Award and ASDAN.
Exam Centre & Access Arrangements
Examinations and their environments can be challenging for many young people, often creating barriers to achievement. At MBN Arts, we provide a calm, familiar and supportive setting designed to help reduce anxiety and build confidence.
MBN Arts is an accredited exam centre with AQA, Pearson Edexcel and TQUK, enabling us to deliver a wide range of examinations within a supportive, young-person-focused environment. Our aim is to ensure every candidate feels prepared, reassured and able to succeed.
We believe all young people have an equal right to opportunities, and we offer a variety of Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments to ensure those who need additional support can fully and fairly access their examinations.
Our Team
Our team offers a balanced blend of qualified tutors and experienced mentors, with backgrounds across both mainstream and specialist provisions. Each coach brings two essential qualities: specialist expertise within their creative pathway, and a genuine commitment to supporting the emotional wellbeing of young people.
We are dedicated to providing a safe, nurturing environment. All staff are highly trained and hold enhanced DBS checks, registered on the Update Service to maintain the highest safeguarding standards.
We also have a full-time SENDCo, ensuring that the special educational needs and SEMH needs of each young person are identified and supported effectively throughout their time with us.
Every day, our team is joined by Riley, our CEO and emotional support dog, who brings calm, connection and reassurance to the young people who spend time with him.
Experience & Professional Backgrounds
Mandatory Qualifications & Training
Open Days
During each academic year, we hold 2 open days at our Townsend Centre, which allow young people, their families and education professionals the opportunity to visit our Centre. This allows them to meet our team and those who would be supporting the young people, explore and familiarise themselves with the setting, and learn all about all our programmes, courses and examination services. These visits can be key in supporting a young person’s successful transition into a new environment and we endeavour to do everything to help them feel comfortable throughout their visit. Please contact us for full information.
Exhibitions
Each year, the young people at MBN Arts create, curate and celebrate their work as part of our annual Summer Exhibition, held at the MBN Arts Centre. The exhibition showcases a diverse range of creative projects developed throughout the academic year, including illustration, digital design, sculpture, music productions, large-scale graffiti artworks and more. Young people, their families and friends, education professionals and creatives are all invited to attend, experience the exhibition first-hand, and celebrate the achievements of our young people together. Visitors also have the opportunity to explore sketchbooks, gain insight into creative processes, and connect with tutors and mentors, gaining a genuine insight into what is possible for young people at this stage of their journey.
Organisation Projects
As well as delivering Alternative Provision, we also open up our services to schools and other youth organisations for larger projects, designed to offer opportunities for groups of young people. We provide tailored creative workshops and projects to meet the needs of your young people and the organisations desired outcomes.
Commissions
As well as delivering bespoke educational opportunities for young people, MBN ARTS’ creative team of artists and designers are also available to create bespoke commissioned artworks of all concepts for a variety of diverse clients. From company murals (internal / external), branding and advertising, installations, children’s bedrooms, art direction on projects and more.
