What is the difference in delivering Arts Award in a curricular v's an extracurricular setting?

We opened our discussion at the first forum with the question 'How to engage young people in Arts Award?' This lead to a variety of responses and engaging stories about people's experiences. What separated the group however, was where Arts Award was delivered and in what context. The two camps seemed to be:

•  'Curricular' - delivered within a school setting, by teachers, during lesson time or attached to a school project i.e. a school play
•  'Extracurricular'- delivered by an arts organisation or group, lead by artists or practitioners and either long term or short term.

We chatted about the pros and cons of each:

Curricular Pros

• Participants are constant
• Sessions can be planned in advance
• The school/parents will fund the cost of the award
• Adviser's time and training is paid for in the role of teacher
• Additional costs such as materials are absorbed by the school

Curricular Cons

• How does it fit practically for schools?
• The award is an 'attachment' to the existing programme and some pupils don't realise they are doing it!
• All students tend to follow the same route e.g. all have to focus on the same art form, programme of work etc.
• Sparking interest or independent research is potentially difficult

   Extracurricular Pros

• It is easy to get young people interested as they are already on board!
• Young people set their own challenge, or the challenge is set by their interests
• Choosing their own art form means young people are in control
• Developing the award in an individual way and a more organic approach to learning
• Higher success rate in experience, confidence building and leadership

Extracurricular Cons

• Difficult to fund/ make financially viable
• If you charge do only those who can afford it do it?
• Regular access to young people
• Consistency of young people's attendance
• Getting started once you have trained! This was a major point we focused on; newly trained Advisers need the support to start a group, as as an independent facilitator it can seem a scary/unachievable prospect

  
Extra-curricular vs curriculum   

HOW DO YOU ALLOW FREEDOM AND CHOICE WITHIN THE CURRICULUM?
HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THE CLASSROOM?







Solutions

These are some of the solutions advisers came up with:

General

• When working flexibly create 'I-books' for individuals to keep rough work in one place. These can then be pulled apart to make personal portfolios later - Thank you Leanne!
• Recording Kent's Arts Award success stories on this site to give other advisers ideas about innovative ways of delivering. If you are an adviser with such a story, please contact us to tell us about it!

Curricular 

• To open up the 'Leadership' section of both Bronze and Silver it was suggested that Primary and Secondary schools could can link projects, with Secondary groups delivering their projects to Primary groups and inspiring interest in Discover and Explore for primary ages.
• In the Bronze 'Heroes and Heroines' unit and Silver 'find out about artists and arts organisations' schools would benefit from 'real artists' visiting the schools. Some attendees spoke about how this was successful in inspiring young people to take up the award whilst also providing first hand contact for students to inquire about careers within the Arts.
• Schools can find organisations/individuals who deliver certain parts of the award here

Extracurricular 

• Artists can collaborate with services such as the Youth Service to deliver Arts Award
• Venues can become Arts Award Supporters and encourage those undertaking the award to visit. Find out more here 
• When writing funding bids for projects with young people build Arts Award into the costs.
• Promote the work you do and are able to offer by becoming one of our profiled advisers
• Apply for Arts Awards Access Fund

Please feel free to comment below and contribute to this discussion, we want to hear your opinion!

A book binding tutorial from our first forum

I first learnt how to ‘book bind’ with Jo Dyer at Animate Arts , and the addiction began. Just about everyone I know has received one of these wonderful little books from me. Whether receiving them or making them everyone is amazed at how lovely they are. So I decided to share the tutorial with you.

I frequently use this workshop as a starter to The Arts Award as they make fantastic and personalised portfolios that everyone wants to fill.

For our first Kent Arts Award Advisers Forum we decided to pass the skill on once again to ‘encourage’ people to share the award with more people.

This is me looking proud with my first ever creation!

Here is the tutorial...

You will need:

•  card (this can be nice spangly new card or even better re-purposed from packaging like cereal boxes and the back of pads of lined paper)

•  Scissors

•  Glue (stick or spray is best as it doesn't wrinkle the paper)

•  Gummed tape (the kind used in mounting pictures) or masking tape

•  Paper for pages

•  A needle and thread

•  Paper for your cover (wrapping paper or something special that you have saved)

•  materials to decorate

First you begin by placing two pieces of card together with a small gap between them (this allows your book to close better and not gape open). Create the spine of your book by taping the two pieces of card together.

Lay your cardboard on top of your chosen cover paper and cut out the corners as though you are wrapping a present. If your paper is to small to cover both pieces you can always do the covers individually as in the picture.

Once the pages are cut you are ready to glue.  Do one side at a time gluing the paper down to create the front and back cover (smoothing any bubbles) then glue the flaps. Make sure the covered side is neat, don't worry about the inside at the moment as you will neaten this later. 

Now leave this section to dry...

Next to make the pages! Fold the size of papers you wish to have inside your book (It's best to fold them separately as they sit together nicely). Use a pin to prick some holes down the fold, at about an inch apart, depending on the size of your book. With a needle and thread do a basic in and out stitch down the length of the spine then come back up filling the gaps. ‘Wow I can sew!’ says anyone who can’t sew. As a tip start and end on the outside so you don't see any threads inside your book.

Now it’s time to glue the first and last pages to your book. Cover the surface of your first paper page with glue. Position your paper pages inside the cardboard cover making sure the spine sits in the gap. Stick the first page to the cover. Then you do the same with your last page. Your book is almost there! 


Where the pages are glued to the book glue some other paper over it if you wish to make it look really smart and hide the binding.

Now comes the best bit, decorating! We used stamps to personalise the books and scrapbooking/card making supplies to add embellishments. You can make fastenings to close the book from ribbon or string.

This is an example of one of the first Arts Award activities inside the portfolio.

And here are our finished books waiting to be used:

Participants: Wide Eyed Theatre, Kent Arts Award Advisers, and Fran and George who are doing their Arts Award

Venue: Turner Contemporary, Margate

Tutorial written by Vicki from Wide Eyed and Fran who is doing her Silver Arts Award