What’s next? – event notes and actions

An improvement in Reading’s Cultural offer to children and young people, particularly for ‘hard to reach’ young people and areas of low opportunity

• Online updates and culture awareness
• A strong network (web/email list) to ask for support and give training and advice
• A better way to communicate and reach people
• Currently getting young people to produces artworks for reparation – raising money for local charities, Currently using arts as and intervention with young offenders and using coloured sand to represent emotions, currently trying to use Arts Awards with young offenders
• Planning – Want to introduce arts to more young people and have it offered as a positive activity with real opportunities
• Projects with Reading College, ACE funded project with NEETS, Arts Award and to share case studies
• Support and tips on partnership working – look up what their aims are as an organization and how can you help
• Evidence sharing, such as how it ties in with national strategies. E.g. Mental health
• Agencies willing to work with young offenders and who can advise/assist us
• R3L Theater Company – Internships in large professional theatre productions, open to +18 yrs hoping to work in the theatre – needs funding for low-income families. Youth theatre productions, working with pro-directors, choreographers etc. Summer schools for 4-13 yrs, our productions offer discounts for young students and also ‘Pay Student What You Want Night’, £10 on Tuesdays, £8 pupil/school fix
• Leighton Park School takes part in outreach projects. E.g. Took students to Thameside School in Caversham. They are happy to work with us in a couple of weeks. We have lots of talented children in music, filmmaking etc.
• We are running workshops in parks and woodlands and have successfully engaged with ‘hard to reach’ by partnering with children centers. They are very keen

Work with key Reading schools to embed Artsmark and work with partners to support Arts Award opportunities for CYP in Reading

 Artsmark suspended by A.C.E. – 28/10/14

• Need to know more about Artsmark; relevant for secondary schools?
• Knowing contacts in schools and youth clubs, our group having training facilitated
• I am trying to use Arts Award with young offenders but not managing to get them to buy in to the process and need resources/venues
• Be a group which can work with young people engagement in schools and youth clubs
• Could benefit from a good practice/resource and ideas sharing system
• Why only schools, why not wider educational establishments?
• Free Arts Award training
• What is a “Key” school?
• List of preferred artists per field available to schools
• Leighton Park School – Arts Award, Bronze, Silver and Gold – starting up now
• Love from ‘stem’ to ‘steam’

Reading based culture and arts organisations to work together to initiate and access funding for children and young people’s cultural provision

 The Arts Collective – Centre network of over 100 local people involving in the arts. Events program currently dormant due to lack of time/energy/resources. Help?

• Starting a group to deliver cultural learning and events
• Offer – classes, courses and opportunities. To be aligned with the children of 8yrs who are being funded socially
• MERC and Reading Museum work together formally and informally
• Constellation
• New outcome – music and art with a range of genres, Reading 2016 – a Music and Art Installation
• Approach to private schools and benefactors
• How can we talk about funding plans when we may be in competition? Response – Working together makes us stronger ad a better chance at being successful in funding. One stick will snap, a group together will not
• A directory of arts groups

Create and support new partnerships to develop new work and focusing on a cultural offer for children and young people in Reading 

• Reading CAN badge/mark to show engagement with young people
• Leighton Park School – see post it note on ‘hard to read’ sheet; reach out events concerts for other schools.
• Provide workshops to expose young people to rural life
• Create a link between contemporary art and university, schools and the public via our connections as graduates through a program and workshops and pop-up events
• Intern from Reading University to lead a project to investigate support and assist/finding requests
• To work in partnership with other organisations
• Different organisations to have regular meetings, agree a cross-strategy
• We need to work out a youth-focused way to promote there ‘ cultural offer’, more accessible/catchy language
• Wild play and learning in Reading’s parks and woodlands, we’d like to hear from any arts organisations who do stuff outside, or would like to
• We need – exhibition space/access to empty spaces within the town centre (easy for people to travel around), knowledge of how to apply for these spaces on a temporary pop-up basis. We want jobs, spaces, money and involvement from every culture, age and background
• Partner support, funding and support advice

Support and embed young people’s voice in the development of the Reading cultural offer

• Development rather than the provision
• Offer – A school goal of young people who have views and opinions and have a passion for the arts
• Encourage CAN members to ask young people about more than their own offer and share feedback
• A long term plan for AC community engagement
• Online engagement, taster sessions, have motivated keynote speakers
• Seeing other Arts logs and time to hear from PPL successful in delivering Arts Award
• Young people’s choice of engagement i.e. net groups
• Sound media impact

What do you want?

• Youth interest and continued engagement in cultural events
• A long term plan for AC community engagement 

What do you need?

• Hear the young people’s voice
• Where can we listen
• Gate keepers (establish work experience)
• Set a goal
• Budget
• Premises (access and safety for all)