Education, Training and Employment
Summer Arts Colleges
Summer Arts Colleges are a cornerstone of the YJB and Arts Council England (ACE) strategic partnership. The Summer Arts Colleges are arts-focused projects and have been running since 2005. They provide a structured, 25 hours per week of arts-based activity over the six-week summer holiday, using the PLUS Arts enrichment materials. They are for young people on the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) and/or a Detention and Training Order (DTO).
The specific objectives of each Summer Arts College are:
- to implement a structured full time arts-based project combining arts enrichment and arts appreciation activities, and to explore possible routes into employment and careers within the arts and creative industries
- to increase educational engagement and facilitate a transition into mainstream education, training and employment after the programme
- to reduce levels of (re)offending among participants during the project and in the following months
- to improve literacy and numeracy skills and to achieve a qualification through the Arts Award.
To date, young people from 24 YOTs have taken part in Summer Arts Colleges. The evaluation data has demonstrated the following positive outcomes:
- significant increase in educational engagement during and following the Summer Arts Colleges
- a reduction in offending during and after the Summer Arts Colleges
- an increase in literacy and numeracy skills
- the achievement of a nationally accredited qualification - the Arts Award.
In addition to these key outcomes, the summer arts colleges programme can provide the 25 hours of education, training and employment that YOTs must arrange for young people on ISSP or a DTO, at a time of year when education or training provision, such as schools or colleges, may be closed. They also provide YOTs with the time to arrange placements for young people, starting in September.
2008 applications
Click for further information on Summer Arts Colleges and details on how to express your interest in taking part [opens in new windw].