A FORMER art teacher from Cwmbran is setting up art and crafts courses in the town to boost young children's creativity and provide elderly people and people with dementia with a chance to relax, reflect on the past and socialise.

Sarah Pearce will, from September, offer courses as the head of the Cwmbran branch of The Creation Station.

The sessions for older people, she says, will be beneficial for people living with conditions like dementia, because there will be a lot of focus on the past, and an opportunity to hone their fine motor skills.

"The purpose is to get the brain busy, by people working and talking to each other", she said.

Ms Pearce hopes to put the courses on at hospices and care homes in the area.

She will also run weekly 'Baby Discover' and 'Little Explorer' classes at Henllys Village Hall for babies and toddlers, to help young children develop communication and language skills, as well as helping their personal and emotional development.

Ms Pearce said she is "masssively lookng forward" to starting the courses, and wants to "get out there and see what she can do in the community".

To book one of Ms Pearce's creativity courses, visit thecreationstation.co.uk and search for 'Cwmbran'.