Body Happy Org

26/06/2026

As we approach the end of 🌈, our PhD researcher Lulu Tacconelli reminds us that it shouldn't just be about celebration. Yes, we've made progress but there's still plenty more to be done.

Lulu's latest PhD diary entry looks at why negative body image can be such a big issue among the gender diverse population, how the Body Happy Schools Programme is helping and what you can do to make a difference every day.

Read the blog at the link in the comments.

🌈,

24/06/2026

☀️ Summer's calling! We've got two FREE Body Happy Communities days out this summer - but spaces are going fast, so don't wait!

🌿 Summer Fun Day | Weds 5th Aug | Burrington Community Hub
Only 17 spaces left across the day!

🌍 Eden Project Big Day Out | Thurs 27th Aug
Just 4 adult spaces and 4 child spaces remaining!

Both are completely free thanks to our funders at The National Lottery Community Fun. Sign up for Eden Project closes Tuesday 30th June so hurry!

Don't miss out - sign up links are in the comments below! 👇💛

15/06/2026

We're not here to debate the pros and cons of a social media ban - but we'd love to signpost to the work of and in raising the importance of youth voice in this conversation.

Either way, today's announcement does have implications for body respect in children and young people - and it may not be as straight-forward as it seems.

We also think everyone should check out today's post from on this - of which we are a proud core member. 💛

12/06/2026

What is co-design, and why does it matter?

For us it means spending two months showing up to events that were already happening, having conversations, getting to know people - before we ran a single session.

People told us honestly what the real barriers to body respect looked like in their lives, what would help, what they wanted to see.

Co-design doesn't end there. It's organic, constantly evolving. We've kept checking in, tweaked things, switched up formats, brought in things the community asked for that weren't in the original plan.

That's why our programmes will never look exactly the same in any two communities or any two schools - despite the fact our framework and materials remain the same.

Every community, every school, is unique and has its own brilliant ideas about what it needs. A bit like bodies, really 💛

12/06/2026

What is co-design, and why does it matter?

For us it means that before we launched our Community Programme in Plymouth (funded by ), we spent two months showing up to events that were already happening, having conversations, getting to know people. Our first session was a full two-hour co-design session - and because we'd taken the time to build relationships first, there was already trust in the room. People told us honestly what the real barriers to body respect looked like in their lives, what would help, what they wanted to see.

That insight didn't go into a folder. As the programme has gone on we've kept checking in, run mini impact evaluations every few weeks, tweaked things, switched up formats, brought in things the community asked for that weren't in the original plan.
It's the same principle in our Schools Programme - student and community voice isn't something that happens once at the start. It's ongoing, and it genuinely shapes the work.

Which is why, although the framework of our programmes remains the same, no two will ever look completely the same. Every community, every school, is unique and has its own brilliant ideas about what it needs. A bit like bodies, really 💛

11/06/2026

Every morning, students walk past this canvas on their way into school.​​​​​​​​
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It was painted at home, in their own time, by one of our Year 6 peer advocates last year - their entry for the school talent show. The school loved it so much it now lives at the entrance, where every child sees it as they arrive.​​​​​​​​
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We spend a lot of time thinking about the language adults use around children and young people. The throwaway comments about food. The way we talk - or don't talk - about bodies and health. Words matter.​​​​​​​​
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But visual language matters just as much, and when it comes to body respect specifically, it's often the piece that gets less attention. Outside of school, children and young people are surrounded by images every single day - and most of those aren't designed with their wellbeing in mind. What a school chooses to put on its walls, in its corridors, at its entrance, is part of the counter-narrative to all of that.​​​​​​​​
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This canvas isn't a resource or a display. It's what happens when a child feels genuinely equipped to be a voice for body respect in their school - and when the adults around them take that seriously enough to put it on the wall.​​​​​​​​
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That's what a culture of body respect actually looks like - not a policy, not a lesson plan. Sometimes it's just this.​​​​​​​​
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💛 What does the visual language in your school communicate about bodies?

10/06/2026

We can't build cultures of body respect in schools unless children and young people are front and centre of that culture-building practice.

Which is why the Body Happy Heroes strand of our whole school programme is so important.

Body Happy Heroes is an advocacy mentorship programme within the whole school programme, supporting a group of children and young people to become ambassadors for body respect in their school.

They then co-facilitate workshops alongside our lead facilitator, and identify barriers to body respect in their school before coming up with action-oriented solutions.

This supports the wider work taking place with our curriculum resources, staff CPD and workshop & tools for parents and caregivers.

The Body Happy Schools Programme is an active, fluid scheme that won't look the same in every school - because it is shaped and led by the Body Happy Heroes. And no two schools are exactly the same.

We are so proud of this programme and really looking forward to rolling it out across six new schools (primary and secondary) in a new part of the UK ♥️

Find out more via the link in our bio!

08/06/2026

A big thank you to our amazing supporters who raise free funds for us on .

If you're not signed up yet, please join today and you can raise free donations for the Body Happy Schools Programme every time you shop online this summer. All the big names like eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos, Just Eat and many more are ready to make a free donation at no extra cost to you!

Plus, when you reach your first £5 in donations, easyfundraising will match it:

Help us when you shop with 7,000+ brands. Join now.

06/06/2026

So much body shame goes unnoticed. Appearance-based bullying, eating disorders and generations of anti-fat messaging have and still continue under the radar in schools everywhere.

At the Body Happy Org we are very vocal and very visible in our efforts to change this narrative and create cultures of body respect in classrooms and communities. You will have seen our social media posts, heard of our school programme, maybe attended a workshop, but there is also a side of our work that you may not know about.

Behind the scenes, we are exploring the impact of our work and developing a robust, cross-sector understanding of how whole-school, system-level change can support body respect. We are doing this through our research partnership with the University of Lincoln, which includes a fully-funded PhD.

In a new series, our primary researcher, Lulu Tacconelli, is going to tell you more about this important work. And why changing systems is just as important as delivering programmes.

Read the first instalment at the link in the comments.

02/06/2026

We're hiring! 💛

The Body Happy Organisation is looking for experienced freelance facilitators to join our network and deliver body respect workshops in Devon & the South West, North Northamptonshire and North London.

Swipe to find out more - and head to the link in our bio to download the full job description.

Got a question? Pop us an email at [email protected] - we're a small team who don't always see DM's!