A New Direction believes in the talents and potential of all children and young people. We challenge the structural and systemic inequalities that influence children and young people's lives and opportunities and prioritise those that experience these. Our I Am Network for educators working with Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse children and young people in London's schools and specialist settings has been running for over 10 years, and our I Am Festival for Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse children and young people now in its 12th year.
Our experience of delivering these programmes informs the design and delivery of Primary Arts. Our partners include disability-led organisations and practitioners with lived experience. We also consult with SEND professionals from the education and culture sectors, and we strive to ensure that the full programme is accessible to all.
Inclusion focus:
- We only work with organisations whose values and approaches around inclusion are aligned with our own.
- We work with a schools’ advisory group to ensure that we listen to what schools need. This group includes staff from SEND settings and SENDCos from mainstream primaries.
- We include access and inclusion information throughout this brochure to help schools find the offer that is right for them and their pupils.
- All out-of-school activity for staff and pupils is delivered in accessible venues.
- An access budget is available to support schools working with pupils with SEND – for example, to support with the cost of minibus hire for trips or to bring additional support staff.
- The access budget can also be used to support staff participation in CPD.
All five strands of Primary Arts are designed to work for mainstream and SEND settings.
For pupils:
In-Schools Touring brings a cultural organisation into your school to deliver a show and workshops for one year group of children. We also offer twilight staff CPD in school beforehand, and provide free high-quality materials, books and resources.
Programme Adjustments
- For SEND settings with small class sizes, we may be able to offer the show and workshops to more than one year group.
- Shows and workshops can be adjusted to meet pupil needs (e.g. shorter, quieter, simpler, more sensory).
- We bring an access and sensory toolkit, including fidget toys and ear defenders for you to use with pupils who need them.
- We support the organisations to co-plan with your school before delivery takes place, so that they have a good understanding of participating pupils and their needs.
Our approach:
- We discuss each organisation’s values and approaches around inclusion as part of our selection process each year to ensure they align with our own.
- Organisations working with us are supported by an Access & Inclusion Adviser to ensure their offer works for SEND settings.
- Everyone coming into schools attends an onboarding session that includes a focus on access and inclusion.
- Our Access & Inclusion Adviser will support in-school delivery on the day, if needed.
Go & See offers schools free trips to a range of cultural venues. Schools can book for a year group but can also choose to work with a smaller group if they prefer. Go & See is delivered in two seasons, winter (December) and summer (June/July).
Programme Adjustments
- For SEND settings with small class sizes, we may be able to offer the trip to more than one year group.
- Many partner venues offer specific sessions or relaxed performances for SEND settings. These are clearly identified in the brochure.
- Our access budget is available to SEND settings to support additional costs such as travel (including minibus hire) or additional support staff.
For staff
The strands below are designed to support professionals working in any primary setting. All sessions are delivered in accessible venues, and we have an access budget available to support participants if needed.
The Cultural Education Leadership Programme focusses on teachers developing leadership skills in any type of setting. Each participant completes a Leadership for Change research project, choosing their own area of focus to support their own learning and development and that of their pupils.
Our Masterclasses focus on creative approaches to reading, writing and oracy development at all levels and in all settings.
Our Come & Try sessions are mainly focused on staff wellbeing. They also provide a range of practical craft approaches that can be used in the classroom.
Where relevant, we have used a symbol throughout the brochure to identify information that SEND settings may find useful.
If you have any questions about access and inclusion in Primary Arts, please email us at schools@anewdirection.org.uk.
