We worked with the Obesity Institute at Leeds Beckett University to tackle a challenge that few people were talking about – how to help children understand kindness, body image and respect at an early age. Research showed that weight-related bullying often starts in primary school, yet teachers don’t always have the tools or confidence to address it. Together, we focused on prevention – reaching children before attitudes around body image become fixed, and giving teachers the confidence, language and structure to lead positive conversations in the classroom.
Our approach combined academic evidence, creative storytelling and genuine co-production. We worked alongside Leeds Beckett researchers, clinicians and young people – including children with lived experience of weight stigma – to create something real, relatable and grounded in understanding.
To share it, we built credibility through trusted education and public-health networks rather than paid promotion – embedding the resource within Food Active’s national Schools Pledge framework, the National Child Measurement Programme board and regional partnerships nationwide.
We set out to create an accessible way to start difficult classroom conversations about weight stigma and kindness.
Working with Leeds Beckett University’s Obesity Institute, we developed a short animation and teaching resource co-produced with children aged 7–9, some with lived experience of weight stigma, others without. Through workshops at the university, the children helped shape everything: storyline, language, colours and characters (represented as simple shapes to avoid body comparisons).
Safeguarding was essential. With support from SHINE – a specialist organisation that supports children and families affected by obesity – wellbeing was carefully managed throughout the process.
Our team at Wrapped handled every creative element in-house, from concept and scriptwriting to storyboarding, animation and design, ensuring the tone was both age-appropriate and emotionally resonant.
Developed alongside Leeds Beckett’s public-health academics, the finished teaching pack aligns with PSHE curriculum strands on health, relationships and emotional wellbeing. It includes lesson plans, teacher guidance and printable classroom materials – all freely available to schools.
Simple, human and evidence-based, Every Body Deserves Kindness brings empathy and inclusion into everyday education.
Although only recently launched, ‘Every body deserves kindness’ is already gaining national recognition across both health and education networks.
The animation has had almost 1,000 YouTube views, and the teaching pack is hosted on the Weight Stigma Hub via Food Active’s national website – embedded within their Schools Pledge framework.
It’s also been promoted through the National Child Measurement Programme board, featured in the Learn Sheffield Opportunities Bulletin (reaching every school in the city), and shared across Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s healthy schools’ network and Leeds Beckett’s 300 partner primaries.
Feedback from pilot schools has been overwhelmingly positive, with teachers describing the resource as “thoughtful, age-appropriate and aligned with PSHE curriculum standards.”
Following rollout to 100 pilot schools, it’s now being shared more widely across regional and national networks – with potential reach to more than 1,000 UK schools. Because it aligns with national curriculum standards, schools can use it without extra training or policy change – helping to make kindness and inclusion a lasting part of classroom culture.
