How the Access Fund can help

The Complete Works Ltd (granted £910)

Working alongside a group of young people with a range of SEN and out of education or employment, The Complete Works Ltd delivered Arts Award Silver in a project based on drama, dance, film and photography. Their funding allowed them to pay for professionals to run workshops, including a series on film techniques which the young people used to make their own documentaries. These were screened at an event run by the young people, several of whom overcame personal challenges to continue with the project. The Access Fund grant allowed the group to produce work to a professional standard which was hugely beneficial for their confidence and sense of achievement.

Derby QUAD (Granted £479.00)

QUAD is a centre for the arts in Derby city, connecting people to art and film. The Access Fund was used to help fund Q Club, a group for young people. Young people visited QUAD’s exhibition space and worked with an experienced dance artist to express the themes of the exhibition through dance and movement. Their final work was displayed in a temporary exhibition at QUAD. The grant paid for the dance practitioner, venue hire for the workshop, and general materials for the Arts Award project. 

SILS4 (granted £1,477.20)

Southwark Inclusive Learning Service (SILS) is an alternative provision for young people excluded from mainstream education. SILS4 caters for Key Stage 4 students, and used graffiti as the basis for Bronze and Silver awards. Graffiti artists delivered workshops with young people across years 10 and 11, who learnt skills which they used to create a mural. The impact on both groups has been extremely positive, with young people more engaged in lessons and a notable improvement in areas such as class attendance and literacy levels. There has also been a lasting effect on how young people involved interact with each other. The older group thrived with the responsibility involved in being more experienced leaders, while the younger group enjoyed being taught by peers rather than teachers. The centre wants to pursue delivering Arts Award across other areas of the curriculum, such as collaborating between English and Art to make another word-based project.

Flatfeet Dance Company (Granted £558.50)

Young people went to see a professional dance show as part of their Bronze Arts Award. The trip inspired them to think about dance in a wider context, and they took ideas from it to incorporate in their own choreography. The Access Fund paid for adviser time, tickets to the show, travel to and from the venue, general art materials to build portfolios, and moderation fees.

Crosshill School (Granted £1,120.00)

Crosshill is a special school in Lancashire which ran the Explore and Bronze awards with a group of students. Young people went to see a professional theatre production in Manchester, which they followed up by making masks and artworks inspired by what they had seen. They also worked with two local artists in specialist workshops to learn about their styles and techniques, and explored the ways the artists expressed themselves through their art. The Access Fund paid for Explore arts logs, general art materials, tickets and transport for the theatre production.