Arts Award in Art Therapy practice with young people
Sussex Partnership, Culture Shift and Trinity College
As part of our aim to build stronger links between the health and cultural sectors Sussex Partnership worked with Sussex based arts organisation Culture Shift and Trinity College London, to develop a small innovative pilot project exploring the use of Arts Award in art therapy practice with children and young people.
Arts Awards are unique qualifications that support children and young people aged 5 - 25 to develop as artists and arts leaders. Arts Award provided opportunities to develop creativity, communication and leadership skills, and embraces all interests and backgrounds. Through Arts Award, young people gain a nationally recognised qualification enabling them to progress into further education and employment. Arts Award has five levels, four of which (Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold) are accredited qualifications on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). Arts Award is open to anybody in the UK.
Arts Awards are unique qualifications that support children and young people aged 5 - 25 to develop as artists and arts leaders. Arts Award provided opportunities to develop creativity, communication and leadership skills, and embraces all interests and backgrounds. Through Arts Award, young people gain a nationally recognised qualification enabling them to progress into further education and employment. Arts Award has five levels, four of which (Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold) are accredited qualifications on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). Arts Award is open to anybody in the UK.
The project, funded by Sussex Partnership and a grant of £5,000 from the Arts Award Reaching Out programme trained nine art therapists as Bronze and Silver Arts Award Advisers and led to eight young people achieving a Bronze Arts Award. Art therapists in West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and East Sussex are now able to offer Arts Award as part of their tool kit of interventions with children and young people.
The project was designed to gain a better understanding of the benefits and challenges of Arts Award when used as part of therapeutic practice. Feedback from the pilot suggests Arts Award can help build young people's confidence and self esteem, is highly accessible and achievable, can be a valuable tool for enhancing therapeutic goals, bridging this with young people’s lives and interests outside of therapy and providing tangible outcomes to be proud of.
The project was designed to gain a better understanding of the benefits and challenges of Arts Award when used as part of therapeutic practice. Feedback from the pilot suggests Arts Award can help build young people's confidence and self esteem, is highly accessible and achievable, can be a valuable tool for enhancing therapeutic goals, bridging this with young people’s lives and interests outside of therapy and providing tangible outcomes to be proud of.
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Young people who took part felt undertaking an Arts Award improved their engagement in art therapy. One young woman said “It did not get in the way of the art therapy. It made it better and a bit more challenging.” They also said they would recommend Arts Award to other young people “…if you are struggling with school it is something to work towards and is an achievement/qualification.”
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This is the first project nationally that brings Arts Award into art therapy practice with children and young people. It has led to the development of Arts Award Art Therapy Guidelines for the use of Arts Award in therapeutic practice settings published online by Trinity College. Arts Award means that young people can not only work with an art therapist to get help with their problems, but they can also come away from therapy with a nationally recognised qualification.
Learning from the Sussex Partnership pilot project was presented at seminars on ‘Arts Award and young people in health settings’ to multi professional audiences in both London and Leeds.
You can download a PDF here to help you get started.
Learning from the Sussex Partnership pilot project was presented at seminars on ‘Arts Award and young people in health settings’ to multi professional audiences in both London and Leeds.
You can download a PDF here to help you get started.
