Matt Wilcox
Unity Arts, Stoke | Stoke-on-Trent YOT Summer Arts College
Originally from the creative industries, Matt Wilcox is the founder and director of Unity, an arts organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent. Unity was founded in 2005 to tackle issues such as exclusion, youth offending and low achievement in the local area.
In 2008, Matt was the Lead Tutor and Project Manager responsible for overseeing the Summer Arts College at Stoke-on-Trent YOT. Matt was also one of the first organisations to offer the Bronze and Silver Arts Award to young people on a six-week Summer Arts College project.
Here are Matt’s top tips:
1. Don’t be afraid of the Arts Award
Matt recalls a time when he was running the Arts Award for the first time: "When I first ever worked with the Arts Award, I was really anxious about all that it would entail. The moderation was a nerve-wracking prospect and I felt like we may not have done enough to get every young person through. Now I have done the Award a few times, I realise that it’s really quite straightforward – you’ve just got to keep referencing your Arts Award toolkit and make sure that you are evidencing every bit of learning in your portfolios. If you can do that, you have nothing to worry about. At the end of the day, the Arts Award are only a phone call away, so if you are ever unsure, there is always someone to speak to."
Matt believes that one of the strengths of the Arts Award is its flexibility. Evidence can be presented to the moderator in a whole range of media. From written work, to video, to web pages or even audio – the Arts Award will cater for everyone. "The great thing about the Arts Award is that it’s so easy to access. In the past, I have managed to find some great exercises on the Internet that can be adapted to meet the needs of more reluctant learners. One of my particular favourites is one we used last year for Part D of the Arts Award, the Arts Apprenticeship. A couple of students weren’t sure what skill they wanted to teach their case worker so we found a cartooning exercise online which taught the young people how to draw Homer Simpson. Once the young people had mastered it, they were able to share their skill with case workers as part of the award and it was something that all the young people could connect with."
You can find the Homer Simpson Exercise that Matt used here: www.wikihow.com/Draw-Homer-Simpson
2. Bounce between a whole range of enrichment resources
"I have to say that the Unitas Enrichment Resources have been an invaluable way of seamlessly embedding the numeracy and literacy requirements into the programme in a structured and cohesive way."
Whilst the range of Arts Enrichment Resources can be followed as a course from end to end, Matt feels that there is a lot of flexibility within the packs that allow practitioners to run their own engaging sessions with a strong educational focus.
"I personally like to use the ‘Tune In’ music enrichment pack as the spine of my programme. ‘Tune In’ fits with Unity sessions because it covers more than just digital music – it has exercises based around creating flyers and posters for music events and merchandising which give young people the opportunity to try out graphic and logo design. In the past I have adapted the tour planning exercises in ‘Tune In’ so that young people plan arts trips as part of the Arts Award, and we’ve often used poster design exercises to create materials for our celebration event at the end of the programme.
"I tend to build in a few other sessions from other resources too, such as photography work from the ‘Viewpoint’ digital photography pack which can be used to take photos for the posters and flyers, and I particularly like using ‘Alphabets, Words and Letters’ to help young people to write applications, CVs or letters of request. Provided you have a strong and clear artistic vision for how you want to run the College, the exercises in the pack are pretty flexible and can always be adapted to suit your needs and produce a cohesive programme."
NB – ‘Tune In’ is called ‘Sounds Good’ in Wales.
Download a Unity Session Plan with links to Enrichment Resources
3. Celebrate achievement
It’s a requirement of the Summer Arts College programme that all sites put on a celebration event at the end of the programme. And Matt thinks this is done with good reason.
"It’s so important to go all out for the final event," says Matt, "At the end of the day, you have got to remember that the group you are working with are likely to have been detached from education for a significant period of time. For many, the Arts Award will be a first ever qualification and it’s so important to recognise and celebrate this achievement. We try to better our celebration event year on year and are always pushing the boundaries by inviting special guests – the mayor, local councillors, celebrities and supporters, police and probation officers and obviously parents and carers as well. We always budget for a great event at the end of the College and I feel it’s just as important for staff to share this day with the group as it’s an opportunity to reflect on such a challenging yet rewarding experience for all involved. By keeping the celebration in mind from the get go, young people have a sense of ownership for the day – they will all have artwork on display and usually each have a role to perform for the event, whether that’s meeting and greeting people or talking about their experience of the programme to attendees."
Matt is also a big believer in celebrating achievement throughout the programme and encourages practitioners to give out in-house certificates at the end of each week or every time a young person completes a unit of the Arts Award. "It’s those little things that go a long way for both the staff and the young people. Any way you can get young people to recognise their own success in education has got be a good thing."
Why not encourage your young people to aim higher by entering the Summer Arts College Competition?
Matt on the Unitas Artists' Directory: www.unitas.uk.net/ArtistsDirectory/99981
Matt's website: www.unitystoke.co.uk