' D On't Put Us in Your Boxes'

‘Don’t put us inyour boxes’ Learningfrom thefirstfouryears oftheNationalArts LearningNetwork Widening Participation in Arts and Design Higher Education FoundingmembersofNALN CamberwellCollegeofArts/CentralSaint MartinsCollegeofArtandDesign/Central SchoolofSpeechandDrama/ChelseaCollege ofArtandDesign/ClevelandCollegeofArt andDesign/CumbriaInstituteoftheArts(now partoftheUniversityofCumbria)/Hereford CollegeofArts/LeedsCollegeofArt/London CollegeofCommunication/LondonCollege ofFashion/NorwichUniversityCollegeofthe Arts/PlymouthCollegeofArt/Ravensbourne CollegeofDesignandCommunication/Rose BrufordCollege/RoyalCollegeofArt/TheArts UniversityCollegeatBournemouth/University CollegeFalmouth(incorporatingDartington CollegeofArts)/UniversityfortheCreative Arts/WimbledonCollegeofArt In memory of Sheila Soul-Gray, Director of the National Arts Learning Network 2005–2006. In 2005, Sheila developed NALN, a network of specialist art, design and performing arts institutions across England, working to ensure that barriers were identified and removed for those entering the arts world, whether in education or employment. NALN was little more than six months old when Sheila fell ill and she died in 2006. Her vision and energy have fuelled its subsequent work. ‘Don’t put us inyour boxes’ Widening Participation in Arts and Design Higher Education Learningfromthefirstfouryearsof theNationalArtsLearningNetwork Contents Preface Grayson Perry, Patron of NALN 4 Introduction Mark Crawley, Director of NALN 5 WhatNALNsetouttochange 8 ProgressionatallStages Getting in to HE 13 FE-HE Collaboration & Dialogue 16 Successful Progression: the Transition to HE 18 NALN’sResearch:ADeeperUnderstanding 26 InformingandInfluencing 30 ANewNetworkfortheFuture 38 ChallengesRemaining 39 References 40 Left _Light piece, Stephanie Garnett, University College Falmouth. 4 Widening Participation in Arts and Design HE Preface I have been very pleased to be a patron of the National I grew up not really knowing what a contemporary artist Arts Learning Network over the past three years. It was. I did not enter an art gallery until my mid teens. I did does important work in helping students from under- not equate my imaginary world with what I saw hanging represented groups into higher education in the arts and on the walls at the Tate. I was very lucky my art teacher hopefully into careers in the creative industries. who despite being appalled by my spoken grammar spotted my unconscious leaking on to the paper and I have been delighted to meet some of the students thought rightly that I would do well at art school. that NALN works with to discuss their work and to give them advice. I was particularly struck by the potential It is vital that arts institutions do carry on this work of shown by these students and the way in which NALN trying to be more inclusive and recognise artists and had worked with and supported them. Now that some of designers whatever their background. This is important the students NALN has worked with are graduating and not just for individuals but increasingly for our economy. making their journey into a career in the arts, I hope that this helps to diversify the creative workforce. I have been lucky I have been given the opportunity to pay back society for my education. Artistic talent is hard I hope that NALN has helped to open up art colleges to a to spot in young people but you can be damn sure that, wider variety of people. I once said that art colleges were two parents, a white skin, nice middle class manners and in danger of becoming posh white ghettoes. Perhaps, four A-levels are not very reliable indicators. thanks to organisations like NALN, that is changing. Grayson Perry Patron of NALN Above _Grayson Perry, Patron of NALN. Right _Mark Crawley, Director of NALN. Introduction 5 Introduction This report highlights the work and achievements of the And this is, to borrow a phrase, only the end of the National Arts Learning Network in its first 4 years. It beginning. The member colleges have agreed to continue also seeks to capture something of the spirit of NALN, the work of NALN through incorporating the network of the very real collaboration and partnership that has within ukadia (the United Kingdom Arts and Design developed between the member colleges as a result of Institutions Association). We find ourselves now in very the network. challenging times. I believe we have laid firm foundations that enable us to work together to meet those challenges. The title of this report, ‘Don’t put us in your boxes’, is I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues a message that the student speakers at our 2009 across the UK to help achieve our key goal of providing conference decided collectively that they wanted opportunities that change people’s lives. us to hear. It is an important message, reflecting the complexity of the widening participation agenda and the I have been lucky enough to have been Director of high level of sophistication that is required in effective NALN since 2007 and it has been an immensely responses to this agenda, in both policy and practice. enjoyable experience. The people working on and supporting the NALN agenda, in the member colleges One of only two national Lifelong Learning Networks, and the Secretariat team, are wonderfully creative and NALN sought both to build on past achievements in the committed people. I would like to say a huge thank you field of widening participation in arts higher education to all those who have contributed to NALN during its and to break new ground. first four years. I would also wish to record thanks, on behalf of the network, to University of the Arts London It has made significant progress. Amongst its key for hosting the network from the beginning and for the achievements are: foreseeable future and to Mike Bradshaw who stepped in > It has built a network of institutions that work to act as Associate Director before I was appointed. together in a spirit of cooperation and share good practice. I hope that you find this report useful and enjoyable and, > Its progression work has ensured that productive in particular, that it does convey some sense of the great partnerships have been built between FE and HE in collective spirit of NALN. order to widen access to students from widening participation backgrounds. Mark Crawley > It has established 250+ progression agreements Director of NALN which have enabled more than 1,800 learners to progress to our member colleges. > It has carried out major research projects which we are confident will have a positive impact on key widening participation issues for years to come. > It has held three influential conferences at which foremost researchers, academics and arts and WP practitioners have learned from each other. 6 Widening Participation in Arts and Design HE ‘For me the moment that sums up NALN is when Grayson Perry, who was visiting the second NALN conference, spent half an hour with one of the students from my institution talking about his work, aspirations, allowing the student to understand that you can come from complex and deprived backgrounds and still achieve great things in practice. The generosity that Grayson showed towards the student was a life changing moment for the student. He was so personally encouraged and empowered by the conversation.’ Professor John Last, Chair of NALN ‘Much has been said about the success of the UK creative industries. Too little is said of the role of arts and design institutions in providing the talent upon which this success is based. The capacity of arts and design colleges to admit students otherwise at the margins of traditional schooling has so often accessed the real talent’. Professor Stuart Bartholomew, Principal, Arts University College Bournemouth, Chair, ukadia Above _ Grayson Perry in conversation with students (NALN Conference 2008). Introduction 7 “ …while more working class and black and minority ethnic students are now entering HE, the arts remain one of the least diverse disciplines” Aileen McEvoy, Arts Council England (NALN conference 2008) What NALN setoutto change What NALN set out to change 9 Inits2005foundingdocument, Its ambitious programme of work centred on the theNationalArtsLearningNetwork development of progression pathways for vocational students, curriculum development to support the wrote: students and research and project work to ensure ‘Visual arts is one of the least diverse disciplines, that there was a sound foundation for the widening a characteristic shared by the performing arts… the participation work of the network. benchmark for first degree participation by lower socio-economic groups within art and design is only 29%.’ This report presents the key achievements of NALN, the (NALN 2005, p. 6) lessons learned and the tasks remaining as it moves into its next phase. It follows NALN’s interventions at the NALN thus acknowledged earlier research findings, various stages of the learner journey from entry to HE, to that art colleges were perceived as the ‘preserve of the postgraduate study and building a creative career. privileged’ (Malik Okon 2005, p.6) and set itself the task of changing this. ‘If HEIs wish to widen their intake, they should target colleges. Not only do they provide for the majority of 16–19 There was and is much work going on in the area of year olds, despite the political obsession with sixth forms, widening participation in higher education in arts and they also contain much higher proportions of learners from design. NALN, as a Lifelong

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