Case study Employer engagement: T e art of the Diploma


The creative sector has a wealth of work-related learning opportunities for students on the Creative and Media Diploma. Catherine Rose from Arts Inform tells us how to make the most of them


there is a new demand for work-related learning opportunities in the creative sector. But what does this mean both for teachers


W


forging relationships with arts organisations, and the arts sector re-imagining its relationship with schools and their students? Arts Inform, which works to build


relationships between schools, colleges and professionals within the cultural industries, has been carrying out some pilot research for the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural (NSA), which has resulted in the creation of resources. Working with 24 arts organisations in


Norwich and Cambridge, the organisation has explored the implications of engaging with the CMD, and looked at how students can gain industry experience. We created two Employer Focus Groups,


one in each city, both of which met four times. As well as disseminating information about the CMD and bringing guest speakers to broaden our knowledge, these meetings enabled us to create new resources to assist arts organisations and schools to work together with ease and


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ITH THE Creative and Media Diploma (CMD) proving to be one of the most popular of the qualifi cations,


clarity. T is process culminated in a seminar on work-related learning and the CMD in July. Work-related learning as a whole is a concept


which arts organisations can sometimes struggle with: the CMD may be a way of opening it up to more potential partners.


Getting artists involved We have found that the response to the CMD among arts organisations has generally been very positive – once an initial suspicion of the new initiative had been overcome. Many such companies have an education or outreach offi cer, whose job it is to collaborate with schools and community groups. Some specialise in working with particular groups (perhaps with prisoners or older people), but most are fl exible and will happily discuss individual schools’ needs. We have already seen some highly inventive


and productive partnerships between arts organisations in the two areas where we worked. For example, T e Junction – an


arts venue based in Cambridge – has commissioned CMD Level 2 students to create a video promoting its youth band nights, in collaboration with students from Bournemouth University. Seachange Arts in Great Yarmouth has worked with groups


at various levels on projects such as a Trash Fashion show. Young people presenting at our seminar, including Long Road 6th Form College and the Parkside Federation in Cambridge (pictured above), pointed to a wide range of benefi ts they had experienced working with artists and arts companies – not least the very professional and not always complimentary feedback which they received. T e “real-world” aspect of these projects,


they said, gave them increased motivation both to complete tasks on time and to succeed in fulfi lling the brief they were given. It swiftly became clear that much of what


arts organisations off er to schools can easily be adapted to suit the needs of CMD students. Many off er behind-the-scenes tours and are happy to arrange for young people to meet and interview their staff . Of course, almost all are glad to have young


people in their audiences for shows, concerts and exhibitions – the rare exceptions being where content might be considered unsuitable for younger students. Other types of project have value – for example, artist-led workshops in performance, art techniques or technical aspects such as lighting and design, which can contribute to the Performance, Festival or Artefact units.


Delivering Diplomas • Volume 2 No 2 Autumn 2010


Photo: Robert Piwko


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