This pair of educational animations was created for the Body Positive Schools curriculum, a free teaching resource developed by researchers at the University of Bath in collaboration with the national charity Anorexia and Bulimia Care (ABC). The animations were commissioned for the curriculum led by Niamh Ni Shuilleabhain, then a PhD researcher in Bath’s Department for Health, with Professor Emma Rich.

The resource grew out of participatory research. Working with the charity, Niamh carried out her study with around 380 Year 8 students and their teachers across two secondary schools in the South West of England, co-creating approaches to talking about the body and helping schools build more supportive cultures for young people of every shape and size. The animations were made to sit within that curriculum, designed for Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) classrooms and youth groups, supporting teachers and students to work together on these conversations with care.

This is kind of subject requires the right tone. The work needed to feel warm, inclusive and age-appropriate, sensitive vs. clinical, so that young people felt supported rather than singled out. Finding a visual language that handles delicate topics with care is something I focus on across my animation work with academics and researchers, including related work like my Flying While Fat documentary animation on body politics and lived experience.

The completed curriculum was published as a free resource for teachers, parents and youth groups, developed with support from the University of Bath Alumni Fund and made available to download through Anorexia and Bulimia Care. It’s the kind of project I find most meaningful: animation put to use in real classrooms, in service of young people’s wellbeing.

If you’re a researcher, school or organisation working on body image, young people’s wellbeing or health education and you’d like to bring a sensitive subject to life through animation, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch.