Evaluation Report
November 2013 to December 2016
Contents
Page 3 Summary
Page 5 Introduction
Page 6 Approved Purpose One: To work with approx 120 people in 5 communities, 60 aged 60+ & 60 aged 12 – 16
Page 17 Approved Purpose Two: To hold community sessions within each region
Page 19 Approved Purpose Three To produce five short animated films
Page 20 Approved Purpose Four: Each group to produce a booklet
Page 21 Approved Purpose Five: To work with Museum of East Anglian Life to create a childhood play handling box
Page 22 Approved Purpose Six: To hold community events and five exhibitions, hosted by participating museums
Page 26 Challenging stereotypes and combating preconceptions: Analysis of data collected during the project via participant questionnaires
Page 39 Conclusion
Page 40 Appendix I: Beneficiaries
Page 42 Appendix II: The Facilitators
Page 43 Appendix III: Equal Opportunities Data
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 2 of 44 Summary Report
Suffolk at Play was a creative intergenerational reminiscence project, designed to encourage and support adults and young people living in the same community to build relationships through their shared experiences of childhood play.
It ran from November 2013 to end November 2016 and took place in Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Stradbroke and Stowmarket.
Suffolk at Play engaged directly with 74 individual adult participants.
Amongst them were members of the Moreton Estate Over 60’s Club, local church groups, library groups such as Time Out, Top Time and Literary Locusts, and residents at Cedrus House Care Home.
85 individual students took part
They included students from Howard Middle School, Felixstowe Academy, East Point Academy, Stradbroke High School and Cedars Park Community Primary School.
In November 2016, Suffolk at Play delivered a further five creative reminiscence sessions to residents in care homes and sheltered housing units in Lowestoft, working directly with an additional 49 adults.
In total, Suffolk at Play engaged directly with 208 individual participants
An additional 99 individuals benefitted indirectly (secondary beneficiaries) via introductory sessions, observing sessions, or attending as supportive relatives and friends.
Suffolk at Play delivered 78 regular sessions – equating to 156 hours of high quality creative reminiscence work.
The sessions included a total of: -
14 hours of reminiscence work/oral history training for students 18 hours of intergenerational work between adults and students 27 hours of animation sessions 19 hours of creative reminiscence activities in schools and library/museum settings.
A further 5 sessions were delivered in care homes in Lowestoft during November 2016.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 3 of 44
A DVD of animations and a full-colour booklet were produced at each location.
Participants each received a copy of the DVD and booklet and many more have been distributed via the exhibitions and other outlets.
A copy of these resources has been passed to the Suffolk Record Office to join the county archive.
Material from the project can be view at the Suffolk at Play blog site at http://suffolkatplay.primaryblogger.co.uk/ and via the Suffolk Artlink site at http://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/our-work/suffolk-at-play/
A Childhood Play Handling Box was created and used throughout the project; it is now part of the resources available from the Museum of East Anglian Life.
A special Suffolk at Play Cube was created, to exhibit the animations and other artworks produced by participants.
The Cube was exhibited in
Moyse’s Hall Museum Felixstowe Museum Museum of East Anglian Life
It was not possible to exhibit the Cube in Laxfield Museum, but they did screen the animation in the main gallery and display copies of the booklet.
Exhibitions also took place at Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Stradbroke and Stowmarket libraries, and at the participating schools in those four towns.
It is estimated that some 12,900 people have seen the Suffolk at Play Cube.
13 partner staff took part, principally museum staff and school staff who actively engaged in the project.
Four volunteers took part, two sourced via the museum service and two through Suffolk Artlink.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 4 of 44 Introduction
In November 2013, Suffolk Artlink launched Suffolk at Play - an intergenerational reminiscence project designed to engage Suffolk residents (old and young) in sharing and capturing experiences of childhood play.
Professionally facilitated reminiscence, oral history and animation sessions encouraged participants to share their experiences, gain skills, build relationships and develop a creative response to their different stories.
The project was delivered in five distinct locations, enabling it to compare experiences of rural, urban and coastal life. Adult participants were drawn from local library groups, Over 60’s clubs “It was enlightening - and a residential home; the children were predominantly Year 8 students from local schools, although the final iteration worked with heart warming to see slightly younger, primary school-aged children. just how the two life In each location, participants created animations to illustrate their ages mingled without collective memories of childhood games and a full-colour booklet was published for each group, containing photographs, anecdotes acknowledgement of and creative writing produced during the sessions. differences. We all
The animation DVDs, booklets and other small artworks created talked about our during the sessions were exhibited across Suffolk in museums, participating schools and libraries. separate experiences and yet came The project culminated in a Grand Celebration at the Museum of East Anglian Life in September 2016, where the Suffolk at Play Cube together in the art remains on permanent display in their Domestic Life building. work.”
A copy of the subtitled DVD of all the animations has been submitted to the Suffolk Records Office.
Suffolk at Play provided a highly creative way of bringing different generations together to explore their varied and contrasting experiences. In working together, they were able to develop new and positive relationships, skills and knowledge and take pride in creating a resource for the wider community to share and enjoy. The project encouraged people of all ages to value, collect and conserve stories and objects connected not only with their own personal heritage but with the local community and wider national heritage.
Young people were given the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of older people living in their communities and vice versa. By encouraging positive intergenerational contact over an extended period, Suffolk at Play was able to challenge stereotyping and prejudice and to combat preconceptions held on both sides.
Suffolk at Play worked across areas experiencing issues of social deprivation, rural isolation and loneliness amongst a rapidly rising older population. It enabled different communities to come together at the end and celebrate what they have in common; as such, it reinforced the role that sharing heritage can have in building stronger and more cohesive communities.
The project was funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), with contributions from the Suffolk Association of Museums and participating schools. In securing HLF funding, we established six ‘approved purposes’; those purposes are used as a framework in producing this Suffolk at Play evaluation report.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 5 of 44 Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose One: To work with approx 120 people across 5 communities, 60 aged 60+ and 60 aged 12 – 16.
Between November 2013 and September 2016, Suffolk at Play worked with 74 individual adults and 85 individual young people, making a total of 159 primary participants.
Locations, Dates and Participants
Location One: Bury St Edmunds Dates: 29.11.13 – 21.03.14 Participants – children: 13 x Year 8 students from Howard Middle School Participants – adults: 10 members of local Over 60’s Club Sessions: 13 sessions at Howard Middle School, including reminiscence training for students, intergenerational and animation sessions Celebration event one: Whole School Assembly Celebration, 02.05.14 Celebration event two: Suffolk at Play Cube launch at Moyse’s Hall Museum, 15.11.14 Exhibition: Moyse’s Hall Museum, Bury St Edmunds, 15.11.14 – 21.12.14 Review and Reflection: Good practice sharing event, 02.05.14
Both Howard Middle School and the local Over 60’s Club had previously experienced working with Suffolk Artlink, through their involvement in Art of Play; as such they were aware of who we were and how we delivered projects.
This was a distinct advantage, as it meant that participants on the earlier project could lobby on our behalf and talk with other members of the Club, whilst the school had a clearer, better informed idea of what to expect from working with us.
The result was that participants came to the project ready to engage, with fewer anxieties about what was involved or what might be expected of them. It was easier to recruit new adult participants, as they had heard about the previous project and could understand the concept more easily. The children – all of whom were new to the project and had been selected by the school to take part – were also aware that their peers had enjoyed working on the previous project and consequently appeared more relaxed and eager to get started. As one commented at the beginning of the project – “I’m feeling very happy and not worried’ whilst another wrote “I feel really good about this project and am really excited.”
The sessions took place in a large classroom and, as the period extended beyond the end of school, we were often able to use the adjoining corridor space and other rooms for spill over activities. The space was clean, light and airy and it only required transporting some larger, upholstered chairs with arms from the reception area to the classroom to make it comfortable for the adults.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 6 of 44
“I feel really good about this project and I’m really excited.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 7 of 44 Locations, Dates and Participants
Location Two: Felixstowe
Dates: 11.09.14 – 11.12.14 Participants – children: 10 x Year 8 students from Felixstowe Academy Participants – adults: 8 members of local church groups Sessions: Introductory session to library Top Time group, 16.09.14 13 sessions at Felixstowe Academy, including reminiscence training for students, intergenerational and animation sessions Celebration event one: Suffolk at Play Cube launch at Felixstowe library, 29.01.15 Celebration event two: School Year Group 8 Assembly Celebration, 21.04.15 21.04.15 - Year 8 assembly, audience = 195 Exhibitions: Felixstowe Library, 29.01.15 – 20.04.15 Felixstowe Academy, 21.04.15 – 15.07.15 Felixstowe Museum, 16.07.15 – 09.09.15 Review and Reflection: Good practice sharing event, 29.01.15
The original plan for the Felixstowe iteration of Suffolk at Play was to work with adults from the library Top Time group; initial enquiries were positive and we subsequently ran a taster session for the whole group in September.
The children were to be students from Felixstowe Academy. Due to the constraints of their timetable, we were completely dependent upon the Academy as to the time of day, and day of the week when we could run the project; as it happened, the only time they could offer us clashed with another activity attended by many of the Top Time group members and as such we were not able to recruit any adults from that source.
The Project Officer visited Collimar Court, a sheltered housing unit close to the Academy, where the Manager was very enthusiastic. A follow-up meeting identified several individuals who wished to take part and transport arrangements were made to take the adults to the first intergenerational session (the student training sessions had already started).
The night before the first intergenerational session was scheduled, there was a particularly upsetting and traumatic incident at the Unit. Not only did this prevent the adults attending the session the following day but it led to the Manager deciding that it was better to withdraw altogether from the project, as the incident had been so unsettling for so many of the residents.
The Project Officer discussed the dilemma with Felixstowe Academy staff, and the Chaplain offered to gather a group of adults from two local church groups. They, in turn, introduced some other adults and we quickly established a group of eight adults to take part in the project.
Students were selected by the Academy on the basis of the opportunities it presented them to develop both their social skills by working with the adults and their natural talents and interests through working with a poet and the animator.
Sessions took place in the library, which was very comfortable for both adults and students, although somewhat disrupted by other staff using the photocopiers and side rooms.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 8 of 44
“I’m hoping to convince the students that people are all the same and however ancient and staid we look we, too, were children once, and
made the use we could of everything available.”
“Wonderful memories – somehow almost forgotten – but coming back! The pupils will realise that they will
have lots of memories for the future generations.”
“It’s just nice to have a look and feel of the modern generation.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 9 of 44 Locations, Dates and Participants
Location Three: Lowestoft
Dates: 14.04.15 – 15.07.15 Participants – children: 12 x Year 8 students from East Point Academy Participants – adults: 9 members of local library groups Sessions: Introductory session to library group, 08.04.15 Introductory talk to Time Out library group, 14.04.15 13 sessions at East Point Academy, including reminiscence training for students, intergenerational and animation sessions Celebration event one: School Year 8 Group Assembly Celebration, 07.10.15 Celebration event two: Suffolk at Play Cube launch at Lowestoft Library, 07.10.15 Exhibitions: Lowestoft Library, 07.10.15 – 01.12.15 East Point Academy, 02.12.15 – 10.02.16 Review and Reflection: Good practice sharing event, 16.09.15
As in Felixstowe, the original plans for recruiting a group of adults to the project had to be refined. We intended to work with residents at The Venlaw, a local sheltered housing unit, where initial conversations with the Manager had been very positive.
Once funding was in place we revisited the Unit to meet with the Manager, who explained that the residents were ‘very busy’, with several of them out at work during the day and so not available for activities in the afternoon. The Manager declined the offer of a taster session, volunteering instead to tell the residents about the project at their regular weekly meeting; we subsequently learned that nobody wished to take part.
Turning to the local library, the Project Officer ran a taster session with the Literary Locusts and also did a presentation to the Time Out group, with the result that nine adults committed to the project.
The students were chosen by the Academy for a variety of reasons, including to help build self confidence in social situations, develop social and communication skills with adults and peer groups, to encourage them to take risks and to be considerate of others and to foster their interests and abilities in creative activities.
The sessions took place in the Art Room – the Head of Art was our designated support staff member. The space was furnished with higher-than-average tables and wooden stools with long metal legs that were particularly noisy. This made it less than convivial for some of the adults, particularly those who found it difficult to sit for any length of time on hard surfaces or who had hearing issues. Unfortunately, there was little we could do to improve the situation, other than make the students aware of the situation, as there was no other space available to run the project.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 10 of 44
A school book, made by one of the adult Creating characters for the animations participants whilst at her infant school
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 11 of 44 Locations, Dates and Participants
Location Four: Stradbroke
Dates: 16.09.15 – 16.12.15 Participants – children: 10 x Year 8 students, Stradbroke High School Participants – adults: 7 adult members of local library Sessions: Introductory session to Over 60’s Club, 20.08.15 13 sessions held at Stradbroke High School, including reminiscence training for students, intergenerational and animation sessions Celebration event one: School Years 7 & 8 Group Assembly, 02.03.16 Celebration event two: Special lunch for all participants held at the school, 02.03.16 Exhibitions: Stradbroke High School, 02.03.16 – 13.04.16 Stradbroke Library, 13.04.16 – 23.04.16 New Cut Arts, Halesworth, 20.05.16 Review and Reflection: Good practice sharing, 07.01.16
In Stradbroke we intended to run the project with members of the local Over 60’s group and Year 8 students from the High School; in the event, our plans had to be slightly altered.
We ran a very well-attended taster session for the Over 60’s during the summer holidays, and several members expressed a desire to join the project. However, by the time the intergenerational sessions started in late September, another activity for adults had started running in the Community Centre. Most of the Over 60’s had signed up for it, and as the timing clashed with our session times at the High School, they were unable to attend.
As in Lowestoft, it was the local library that helped to promote the project and encourage users to get involved. The Project Officer also made a presentation to the Hartismere House, a sheltered housing unit in Laxfield; one resident joined the project and another contributed stories via a series of correspondence with the Project Officer.
We were particularly fortunate with this iteration in that we were able to source materials not only from Laxfield Museum, who let us help ourselves to a variety of items associated with childhood games from their store room (a huge loft space) but also via the Stradbroke Village Archive, a digital source of old photographs of the village and local personalities.
The students were selected by the school and, as with the previous schools, it tended to be for the purposes of encouraging self-confidence and social skills and to nurture their natural creative interests and abilities. The children had been shown a DVD created by one of the earlier Suffolk at Play groups, and so had a good idea of what to expect. When asked how they felt at the beginning of the project, one student remarked: “I’m feeling comfortable about what we are going to be doing.” Another commented; “I’m excited that I can work with people I don’t usually [work with].”
Sessions were held in the school library, which was comfortable and fully accessible. Stradbroke High School was the only school to insist upon all the adult participants being checked against List 99, before they were admitted onto school premises.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 12 of 44
“I really feel another strand has been added to the web of life, if that doesn’t sound too fanciful.”
“I’m feeling proud of what I’ve achieved and wish it would carry on.”
“I wish it would continue forever, I’ve loved it.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 13 of 44 Locations, Dates and Participants
Location Five: Stowmarket
Dates: 07.01.16 – 24.03.16 Participants – children: 12 x Year 6 students from Cedars Park Community Primary School Participants – adults: 23 residents at Cedrus House Care Home Sessions: 14 sessions, held at both the School and the care home and including reminiscence training for students, intergenerational and animation sessions Celebration event one: Whole School Assembly, Cedars Park Primary School, 23.05.16 Celebration event two: Celebration event, Cedars House Residential Home, 23.05.16 Exhibitions: Cedars Park Community Primary School, 23.05.16 – 29.06.16 Stowmarket Library, 30.06.16 – 29.07.16 Museum of East Anglian Life, 03.08.16 – ongoing Review and Reflection: Good practice sharing event, 23.05.16 Final Grand Celebration: Museum of East Anglian Life, 10.09.16
Stowmarket Middle School was keen to host the project and we aimed to deliver it there as soon as we could because, as one of the few remaining middle schools in Suffolk, it was due for closure in the summer 2015.
There were several meetings with school staff, where sessions were discussed in detail and arrangements made for the project to begin in January 2015; at the same time, the Project Office made presentations to residents at two local housing units, to encourage adults in the locale to take part.
So it was a distinct surprise when, in the middle of November 2014, the school suddenly got in touch saying they were unable to take part in the project, citing their imminent closure as the principle reason.
We were committed to working in Stowmarket, and so we approached the local High School, but they declined the offer, as did another High School just outside the town. There being no other High Schools available, our only option was to approach a primary school. This meant renegotiating our grant agreement with Heritage Lottery Fund, as the pupils were younger than originally agreed. HLF consented to this alteration, and we recruited Cedars Park Community Primary School as our final school in Suffolk at Play.
Suffolk Artlink had previously run a short creative project with the school and residents at the neighbouring Cedrus House Care Home, and so we approached the care home to see if they would like to take part in Suffolk at Play – the answer was a resounding ‘yes’.
Because of the younger age range of students, and the limited mobility of the residents (several of whom were in wheel chairs, whilst others were living with dementia) we revised the programme. This time all the intergenerational sessions took place in the Care Home, (in previous iterations, the adults joined the students on the school premises) and instead of creating the animations together, the children were helped, through guided activities, to collect stories from the adults.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 14 of 44 The children then selected their favourite story and created an animation to illustrate it. The animation was shown to the adult in question, who was then ‘interviewed’ about the animation, resulting in an audio tape that could be used as a voice over.
Because the personal circumstances of many of the adults involved, we did not think it appropriate to carry out the ‘entry’ or ‘exit’ questionnaires that everyone else had completed; a less formal way of talking to them about the project was more suitable.
Staff at the school explained the project to the children, and then asked them to write in no more than 50 words why they would like to be selected for the project. This meant they had a much clearer expectation of what they might get out of the experience – and why they wanted it. Please see the section on Challenging Stereotypes for more details.
“The children certainly brought out the best in the residents. They couldn’t wait to see them each week.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 15 of 44
“The whole concept was brilliant – getting the adults and children talking about things they have in common – that doesn’t happen unless you set it up. It was really, really lovely to witness them all together, watching the films and clearly having a lovely time.”
Participants from all five locations came together at the Museum of East Anglian Life on Saturday, 10th September, to take part in the Grand Celebration marking the end of the project. They watched all the animations, took part in creative activities with poet Dean Parkin and artist Caitlin Howells – and continued to share their stories and personal experiences of childhood games.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 16 of 44 Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose Two: To hold community sessions within each region.
Suffolk at Play held 66 community sessions across the five locations. It also delivered a number of introductory and taster sessions, ran a special programme of summer holiday sessions in Stowmarket, and concluded the project by running five special sessions at care homes and sheltered housing units in Lowestoft.
The Sessions
Each iteration was typically 13 weeks long. Sessions one to three were training for the students only. In these, we introduced the idea of reminiscence work, collecting oral histories and generally prepared the young people for meeting the adults – the two groups were unknown to one another and there were some misconceptions and anxieties on both sides.
For example, when asked how they were feeling at the beginning of the project, several young people said they were anxious, ‘quite nervous’ and a little ‘worried’. When this topic was explored further, it became obvious that the young people were concerned about saying the ‘wrong thing’ and upsetting the adults; there were several references to the War, and how it might be upsetting for some adults to be reminded of people they had lost.
One Year 8 student voiced her concern that, as she put it, “they don’t have much more living left – I’m scared someone might die just as we were getting to know them.”
In the event, that is exactly what did happen, and one of the residents at Cedrus House Care Home did pass away shortly after the project completed. She had been a great favourite with the children and they were shocked and upset by her death, as were we all.
However, we had discussed it and, in some small measure, the young people had been able to voice their fears; this self-awareness, together with the sensitive handling by school staff, helped the children to talk about their sense of loss and bereavement.
Sessions four to six were intergenerational reminiscence sessions. Here we introduced the adult group to the students and over the next three weeks they played games together, took part in reminiscence and creative writing activities and shared photos and favourite toys; they also made memory boxes, small booklets of poems and other artworks, much of which went into the large, A3 scrapbooks that each location produced. It was during this part of the project that we collected the material for the booklets, with ‘scribes’ writing furiously trying to get down the individual stories, as the reminiscence facilitator used board games, quizzes and even beetle drives to stimulate conversations and memories.
Sessions seven to twelve were animation sessions. Participants created the scenery and props necessary to populate their films and also experimented with several practice pieces, using small toys such as marbles and jacks, to develop their skills and knowledge of animation techniques.
The final session tended to be with the Project Officer, volunteer and school support staff only and was given up to completing the scrapbooks and other small artworks and the final evaluation questionnaires.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 17 of 44 Additional activity
As a lead-up to the Grand Celebration in September, and to promote the project to a wider audience, Suffolk at Play ran a summer programme of creative activities related to childhood games and play.
The first session took place at Stowmarket Library, whilst the Cube was being exhibited there, and coincided with a regular weekly craft session they ran for young people; all subsequent sessions were held at the Museum of East Anglian Life (MEAL), once the Cube has been transferred to that site.
Sessions: Childhood games craft session, Stowmarket Library, 03.07.16 Childhood games craft sessions 1 & 2, MEAL, 09.08.16 “Thank you very Childhood games animation sessions 1 & 2, MEAL, 09.08.16 much for the Childhood games craft sessions 1 & 2, MEAL, 11.08.16 Childhood games animation sessions 1 & 2, MEAL, 11.08.16 wonderful workshops Childhood games craft sessions 1 & 2, MEAL, 16.08.16 Childhood games creative writing session 1, MEAL, 16.08.16 you ran over the summer. They were very enjoyable and Final stage
gave the children To conclude the project, the Project Officer worked with poet Dean Parkin to deliver one-off creative reminiscence sessions fantastic new skills.” in residential homes and sheltered housing units in Lowestoft…
These included Broadlands Residential Care Home, Harleston House, Dell Care Home, Hildesley Sheltered Housing Unit and
Britten Court Care Home.
Each session lasted approximately two hours. It started with a screening of the animations created at Stowmarket, by way of introduction to the theme of childhood games.
The groups were then encouraged to share some of their memories, which were written down and, at the end of the session, read back to the participants as a form of free verse.
Typically, a session would end with some group singing, often using unique verse produced with the participants.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 18 of 44 Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose Three: To produce five short animated films.
Participants at each location worked together to produce animations to illustrate the stories they had shared with one another. Working in pairs, they typically produced about 7 or 8 brief animations.
These animations were edited into a collection (about 5 minutes long) and each participant received their own copy. The films were broadcast via the Suffolk at Play blog (http://suffolkatplay.primaryblogger.co.uk/animations/) and the Suffolk Artlink website at http://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/gallery/films/
The five DVDs were then compiled into a single disc, subtitles were added and the resulting 27 minute film was screened at the Grand Celebration in September 2016.
The Animations
For the children involved in the project, the prospect of doing animations was obviously exciting – and something they felt quite at ease with; as one child commented, “I have seen some animations on YouTube and they look amazing. I’d love to have a go at animating. I would really enjoy it and it will inspire me, maybe I might have a job as an animator when I’m older.”
For the adults, it was a different story. Only 8% of respondents had any previous experience of making animations and several commented on their anxiety about using a computer, as they were sure it would blow up or they would break it in some way.
By the end of the project, this anxiety had largely been overcome. 84% of adults who responded had taken part in the animation sessions, and had clearly enjoyed the experience. Typical comments included: - “It was such fun, today’s technology is so exciting, so much can be done,”; “I liked the animations best,”; “I am surprised by what I have done.”
In most cases, the adults and students worked together to produce the animations; in our last iteration, in Stowmarket, we altered this process. There were particular practical issues attached to using animation with the adults, including mobility/dexterity issues, the level of dementia in some of the participants and the constraints that placed on the rate at which one could work.
In the end, we decided to get the students to animate their favourite stories as told by the residents. We then showed the residents the animations and recorded their commentaries – in this way we feel we were true to the principal of making the animations together, and merely restructured the process to ensure that everyone involved had the most positive experience possible.
The films have been screened to participants in host venues, shown in libraries, schools and museums and broadcast via web sites, including the Suffolk Artlink web site at www.suffolkartlink.org.uk
They have also be circulated to professionals working in mental health and wellbeing settings, as a resource to stimulate conversation and reminiscence projects amongst the elderly and people living with dementia.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 19 of 44 Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose Four: Each group to produce a booklet
The Booklets A full-colour booklet was produced at each location, containing additional stories, photographs (both present- day and older ones from family albums), and pieces of creative writing produced during the sessions with the poet, Dean Parkin.
The stories for the booklets were collected during the intergenerational sessions, during which the participants were guided through a variety of reminiscence activities, all intended to stimulate memories and encourage conversation about them.
Board games such as snakes and ladders, Ludo and Tiddly Winks got the group playing together, and conkers, hula-hoops and skipping normally prompted a wealth of recollections from baking the conkers or curing them in vinegar, to the songs and counting rhymes they used in the playground.
The group was set certain topics for conversation, such as learning to ride a bike, favourite toys, special outside games and childhood parties – and all the while we would be taking notes, gathering the salient points of their stories for inclusion in the booklet.
The old photographs were copied for inclusion in the booklets. On one occasion, a lady brought along an old sepia photograph of herself with her two sisters; it was the only copy and she had long ago lost the negative, so it was unique. We carefully photographed it and, using a mini- printer, printed out a copy there and then. She was so thrilled with the result that she instantly asked if she could have two additional copies. “I’m the only one to have this photo,” she said, “but now I can send copies to my two sisters so they’ll have the photograph, too.”
The booklets enabled some adults to take part in the project, even though they were unable to attend the sessions. Before launching the project in Stradbroke, the Project Officer did a presentation at a local sheltered housing unit, to invite residents to attend the project; one lady did subsequently attend the sessions. Another resident, who felt unable to attend the actual sessions did send a letter with details of her favourite toys, which we were able to include in the booklet. Similarly, the local library manager could not take part in the actual sessions, but sent us information about her favourite game, which was also published.
Each participant received a copy of their booklet and many more have been distributed via the Suffolk at Play Cube in museums, schools and libraries.
There are also digital versions of the booklets, available to view and download from the Suffolk Artlink web site at http://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/gallery/reminiscence-booklets/ and the specially-created Suffolk at Play blog site - http://suffolkatplay.primaryblogger.co.uk/
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 20 of 44 Dean Parkin used creative writing techniques to encourage participants to focus on particular games and their favourite places to play them.
In some instances, these were produced in little handmade booklets; many of the verses were also included in these booklets.
Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose Five: To work with Museum of East Anglian Life to create a childhood play handling box.
The Childhood Play Handling Box
Julie Heathcote, the Suffolk at Play Reminiscence Facilitator, worked with staff at the Museum of East Anglian Life, to produce a Childhood Play Handling Box.
The Box contained many items associated with childhood games, from pick-up sticks and dominoes, to Bakelite viewfinders and old Dinky Toy tractors.
Items continued to be added to the Box as the project progressed, with some participants contributing old toys and memorabilia of their own.
The Handling Box was used at each iteration and during the summer holiday activities at the Museum of East Anglian Life.
It has now been added to the handling resources at the Museum, and will be made available to other groups and individuals wishing to explore childhood games.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 21 of 44 Heritage Lottery Fund Approved Purpose Six: To hold community events and create five exhibitions, to be hosted by participating museums.
The Suffolk at Play Cube was exhibited at Moyse’s Hall Museum, Felixstowe Museum and the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. Laxfield Museum contributed resource items when the project took place in Stradbroke, and exhibited the completed animation DVD in one of their galleries; Stradbroke Digital Archive (http://www.stradbrokearchive.org.uk/) also contributed.
Each location had its own special community event, sometimes as part of a school assembly, to which the participating adults were invited, or an exhibition launch at the local library. Libraries in Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Stradbroke and Stowmarket exhibited the Cube, as did the participating schools in those towns.
Community Events and Exhibitions
The Suffolk at Play Cube was launched at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds on 15th November, 2014.
Specially designed to contain a screen for displaying the animations, the Cube also has shelves for boxes of toys, compartments for booklets and other small artworks and storage space for the scrap books produced during the project.
It even has its own post box, and specially designed postcards inviting viewers to share their memories of favourite, secret or forbidden places to play.
In January 2015, the Cube moved to Felixstowe Library, where we celebrated the conclusion of the project by inviting participants and their family and friends to view the animations; the Cube remained on public view there for a further three months before moving to Felixstowe Academy.
During the summer holidays the Cube was exhibited at Felixstowe Museum, where it attracted a lot of attention, particularly when there was a volunteer on hand to join in the conversations.
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“Volunteers stationed by the Cube reported that our visitors were very interested in what they had to say, and were particularly attracted by the video. It was an interactive experience with older generations sharing memories with our volunteers and the children in their party.
There was a lot of “I remember that …” and “I used to do that …” comments. There By October, the Cube was in Lowestoft, at the central library. was a definite feel Again, participants, friends and family were invited to view the animations and artworks, whilst the students at East Point had a good factor about it.” special family breakfast, before the screening of the DVD to all the Year 8 groups in the school. The Cube was later moved over to the Academy, where it was on display in the reception area until early February 2016.
In March 2016 the Cube was moved to the school library at Stradbroke High School, where the DVD was screened in at a special Years 7 and 8 assembly and a celebration lunch was laid on for the participants.
The Manager of the local library, who had been most supportive of the project and had contributed a story of one of her favourite games, then arranged to exhibit the Cube for a brief period in April, before the Cube went off to be ‘re-wrapped’ in preparation for the final leg of the project.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 23 of 44 Each time the Cube moved from one location to another, a piece of contextual text displayed on the lid was replaced, to indicate who had been involved in the project. As we approached the final stages of Suffolk at Play, we needed to replace that contextual text, and also give some thought to how the Cube would be presented once the project had finished.
On 20th May 2015 the Cube was one of several items exhibited at part of the Suffolk Artlink tenth birthday celebrations, hosted at the New Cut Arts Centre and attended by some 150 friends and supporters.
At each location, members of the public completed the specially-designed postcards, sharing details of places they played and the games they played there. Many postcards have been completed by tourists visiting the Museum or library, and as such provide a fascinating snapshot of where children were playing decades ago, from bomb shelters in Kentish Town to ‘along the banks of the 6 mile river in Antrim’.
“We would play in the old brick fields in Stowmarket. It was out of
bounds but we spent hours a day Two community events were held in playing making dens and Stowmarket, the first at the primary school, where the DVD was screened to the whole investigating the old tunnels.” school during assembly, followed by a special tea time celebration at Cedrus House Care Home.
The students attended with their families, and residents’ relatives were also invited to view the animations, sing one last song together, and enjoy a splendid tea provided by the home.
The Cube was next exhibited in the town library during July 2016, before being moved to its final destination at the Museum of East Anglian Life.
On Saturday, 10th September, a Grand Celebration was held to mark the end of the project. Participants from all five locations attended, with members of the Over 60’s Club in Bury St Edmunds being bused to the event, as were participants and their families from Lowestoft.
The Celebration took place in Abbot’s Hall Barn, and visitors had the chance to look around parts of the museum and take part in the activities run by the Suffolk at Play artists, before the afternoon screening of all five subtitled animations.
And the chat went on – one visitor approached me saying “Who’s the chap who was talking in the animation about playing on bomb sites in London? That’s what I used to do, I really need to have a word with him about it all.” An hour later, the pair of them were still sharing memories.
The Cube remains on display in the Domestic Life Building at the Museum of East Anglian Life. Based on museum, library and school visitor/audience figures, it is estimated that, thus far, it has been viewed by some 12,900 people.
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The Cube is designed to hold scrap books, memory cubes – and even has its own post box and postcard supply for viewers to contribute their memories of childhood games.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 25 of 44 Challenging Stereotypes, Combating Preconceptions
By encouraging positive intergenerational contact over an extended period, Suffolk at Play was able to challenge stereotyping and prejudice and to combat preconceptions held on both sides.
Participants were asked to complete a brief questionnaire at the beginning and again at the end of the project. These questionnaires collected quantitative and qualitative data relating to how participants were feeling about the project and their expectations, as well as how confident they felt, and their thoughts about their local community; there were also specific questions about creative experiences and about the participants’ understanding of the word ‘heritage’.
Adults at four of the locations were surveyed, to assess how they felt at the beginning of the project. Residents at Cedrus House Care Home, the fifth location, were not included in this survey as it was not considered appropriate.
Q1: How are you feeling at the beginning of this project?
ADULTS: Typically, adults commented that they were ‘a little nervous’ or a bit ‘apprehensive’, whilst simultaneously saying that they were excited and looking forward to working with the children. “I’m feeling a little nervous as to what is expected of One gentleman in Felixstowe wrote: me.”
“I’m apprehensive, but looking forward to a new “I’m desperately trying to recall what I did a long time ago – I experience.” have slight feelings of embarrassment at having “I’m quite nervous as to lost/forgotten so much. what the children’s I’m aware that in my youth I expectations are of us.” tended to play outdoors, with minimal or self-made equipment, “Apprehensive – it’s many in circumstances and surrounds years since I have had any very different from what is typical contact with students of this now. Perhaps that would add to age.” my interest – or perhaps it will just make me seem irrelevant.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 26 of 44 When asked the same question at the end of the project, the adult responses were overwhelmingly positive.
Participants expressed pleasure with what they had achieved, sorry that it was over, and a personal pride that they had been able to pass on some of their childhood experiences.
Several of them commented on how helpful the children had been – particularly in terms of the technology - and how impressed they were by the schools.
“It’s good to think that what was, to us, everyday living “I am so pleased I had the has provided a history privilege of taking part in
for our country.” this project – I have enjoyed
working with the students “I’m pleased that I was able and am surprised at
to pass on some of my own what I have done.” childhood experiences.”
“I found the children well-behaved and polite – a pleasure to work with.”
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience – the students were lovely and so helpful.”
I feel pleased with what I’ve achieved – most of it being an entirely new experience.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 27 of 44 STUDENTS: The student responses at the beginning of the project were brief; typically, they said they were ‘excited’, ‘happy’ and ‘looking forward’ to taking part.
In Stowmarket, however, the children provided a different, more considered level of response.
This may be attributed to the fact that their class teacher, having explained the project in some detail to them, then asked all the students to write a brief reason for wanting to take part in Suffolk at Play. They had, therefore, given some thought to what the project would entail, why they wanted to be part of it, and what they thought they would get out of it.
“I would really like to be part of the Suffolk at Play project because I would love to find out what the people at Cedrus House used to play when they were little. I enjoy talking to my great granddad about olden times, so I think this would be the same.”
“I would love this opportunity to go to Cedrus Care Home to learn and share memories from the past; fun games and activities. I think I will enjoy sharing stories with the residents and feel it would be great fun making animations for the DVD. Please pick me.”
“I am very interested in computers and technology. Also we had a sports lesson of old playground games and I was very intrigued. I am very creative and love to share my ideas. This would be a new experience for me and maybe I would gain a new skill.”
The ‘happiness’ remained with the students throughout the project; when asked how they felt at the end of the project, students said they were ‘happy with what they had achieved’, ‘happy that they took part’ and happy because they’d ‘learnt lots of new stuff’. They also referred to being ‘proud’ of what they had done.
They also expressed sadness that it was over, and that they would miss the company of the adults with whom they had been working.
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“I thoroughly enjoyed “It was fun and I learnt a lot and working with the older some history about past generation who I would generations and how they lived in probably never have met comparison to now.” otherwise. It brought out
some memories that I had “I’m feeling happy because I got to completely forgotten about. hear the Over 60’s memories and Listening to other share their how much everything has changed.” experiences was also very
thought-provoking.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 29 of 44 Q2: Please use THREE words to describe what you think it will be like to work with the students/adults.
ADULTS: ‘Interesting’ was the overwhelming response from adults (17 out of 24 respondents used the word) when asked this question at the “I think it will be heartening beginning of the project; other replies included ‘informative’, ‘enriching’, ‘rewarding’ and and touching.” ‘enlightening’.
‘Interesting’ was again used widely when asked the “I expect it to be interesting, same question at the end of the project This time enriching and connecting.” the adults expanded, calling the experience of working with the students ‘inspiring’, ‘creative’, ‘a complete joy’ and ‘eye-opening’.
“It was fascinating,
enjoyable and thought- STUDENTS: provoking.” ‘Fun’ was the word used most often by students when “Interactive, helpful and describing what they thought it would be “I think it will be fun.” like to work with the entertaining, upsetting adults. They also thought it would be and educational.” ‘exciting’, ‘interesting’ and ‘different’. “It’s a once in a lifetime At the end of the project, the students were again asked to use experience.” three words to describe their experiences of working with the adults. “It’s going to be fun, ‘Fun’ again was the word most often used in response, with educating and ‘interesting’, ‘enjoyable’ and ‘awesome’ often used. memorable.” In Lowestoft, the students commented that working with the poet ‘had changed their minds about poetry’ and they were clearly impressed by some of the stories they had heard, particularly of playing on bomb sites and being scared at Halloween.
“It was inspirational, because now I know that you can have a life without technology.”
“It wasn’t as I thought it would be as the older people were a lot more talkative and social than I originally believed [they would be].”
“It’s going to be fun, educating and memorable.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 30 of 44 Q3: How confident do you feel about taking part in group activities with the students?
ADULTS: Adults were asked to grade their level of confidence from 1 (very confident) to 5 (not at all confident), both at the beginning and end of the project.
Graph 1: Levels of confidence amongst adults at the beginning and end of the project
60%
50%
40%
30% Project start
20% Project end
10%
0% Very Quite Not sure Not very Not at all confident confident either way confident confident
Graph 1 clearly shows an increase in confidence amongst the adults, with none claiming to be ‘not very’ or ‘not at all confident’ at the end of the project; this data is further supported by comments some of the adults made at the end of the project.
“The interaction with the students was well above anything I had subconsciously expected.”
“I feel quite pleased with what I have achieved, most of it being an entirely new experience. The organisers were very welcoming and soon put everyone at ease.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 31 of 44 STUDENTS: The students were asked the same question, and again the results indicated a slight increase in confidence between beginning and ending the project.
Graph 2: Levels of confidence amongst students at the beginning and end of the project
60%
50%
40%
30% Project start Project end 20%
10%
0% Very confident Quite Not sure either Not very Not at all confident way confident confident
This initial lack of confidence amongst students is borne out by comments made at the start of the project, for example: -
“I’m feeling scared yet excited. I am worried that I will say something wrong and will upset the older people.”
“I’m feeling quite nervous, worried about seeing the adults.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 32 of 44 Q4: How many of these Suffolk at Play activities have you done before?
All participating adults and students were given a list of seven activities programmed into the project and asked to identify any they had previously done.
At the end of the project, they were given the same list, and again asked to identify those that they had done.
ADULTS: The adult results are shown in Graph 3. At the outset, very few adults (4%) had any previous experience of oral history work; curiously, this only rose to 9% at the end, yet everyone had been involved in oral history activities, so presumably it was not that they hadn’t taken part (we know that they had) but that they did not relate those activities to oral history.
Most graphic is the comparison between their experiences of audio recording and animation. Responses at the beginning of each iteration demonstrate that 8% of adults had some experience of audio recording and animation; those figures rose to 47% and 84% respectively at the end.
Graph 3: Comparison of ADULT experiences of activities available in Suffolk at Play
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40% Project start 30% Project end 20%
10%
0%
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 33 of 44 STUDENTS: The students were given the same list; their responses are shown in Graph 4 below. Here the trend is almost reversed, and the children demonstrate that they started with little experience of oral history and reminiscence work (2% and 5% respectively) and finished the project with significantly increased experiences of both activities – 75% and 86% respectively.
Graph 4: Comparison of STUDENT experiences of activities available in Suffolk at Play
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40% Project start
30% Project end
20%
10%
0%
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 34 of 44 Q5: What does the word ‘heritage’ mean to you?
ADULTS: Respondents were encouraged to give three words that summed up their understanding of the word ‘heritage’. For the purposes of analysing the answers, we have grouped together all answers containing the words ‘past’, ‘history’ and ‘old’ as these were by far the most frequently used.
Graph 5: Adult response to ‘What does the word ‘heritage’ mean to you?’
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% Something that's The Other Blank passed down, past/history/old inherited
The responses under the ‘other’ category included: -
“Ancient buildings and landscapes, literature and music, oral tradition and customs.”
“Sharing with younger people.”
“Restoration, old trains and airplanes, lost gardens, maintaining beautiful/interesting buildings.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 35 of 44 STUDENTS: Similarly, the student responses were categorised for ease of analysis. The most striking difference between the adults and students is that 58% of students said that the word meant nothing to them, they had no idea what ‘heritage’ was. Of those who did, 21% associated it with items or events from the past, and a further 12% associated it with inheritance.
Graph 6: Student response to ‘What does the word ‘heritage’ mean to you?’
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% Something that's The past/history/old Other Don't know passed down, inherited
At the end of each iteration, students and adults alike were asked again what the word ‘heritage’ meant to them. The answers defy any form of categorisation, and a few of them are listed below.
“Cataloguing memories, “Generations – things that recording the present to get passed down, also enlighten the future, stories and memories.” treasuring and showcasing memories of play and “To me, heritage means my childhood.” history and all my experiences as well as “Just that the games and family. Together all these pastimes we played while things shape me. That is we were young seemed to my thoughts on heritage.” be worthy of preserving for future generations.”
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“Things we can bring to one another over the age gap – which “To me, heritage means we may never have thought about the oral history or physical or talked about – traditions, objects that have passed language, culture. Games we down privately or played, how we spent our leisure nationally to explain and time, our backgrounds.” talk about the past.”
“Keeping tradition alive, passing “It means memories, on all the good traditions from happiness and stories.” the past, keeping up to date with new things.” “Shared stories with older people.” “To me, heritage means the preservation of our history, not “Heritage is like my dad’s just buildings but personal dad and my mum’s dad, history.” and my dad’s dad’s dad and my mum’s dad’s dad – “Everlasting knowledge – still and old people.” able to learn.” “It’s the history about our “Heritage has always brought to families and the place we mind the richness of memories, a live in.” reminder that history is His Story and Her Story.” “It’s anything about the past.” “It provides a picture of experiences, joins generations, “My bungalow – my illustrates common needs through grandparents lived there.” history.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 37 of 44 Q6: Please use three words to describe the community in which you live
ADULTS: When asked to describe briefly the community in which they lived, the adults typically responded that it was ‘friendly’, ‘quiet’, and ‘helpful’. One or two respondents referred to it as being ‘isolated’ and ‘parochial’ but in the main they seemed to appreciate the relaxed and pleasant environment in which they lived.
These responses came from four distinct locations – Bury St Edmunds, a comparatively large urban environment; Felixstowe, the UK’s biggest container port; Lowestoft, a tourist seaside town and Stradbroke, a small village set in the heart of rural Suffolk. Despite the very different types of location, the adults all seemed to have found a neighbourhood that reflected the sort of community they valued – one that was friendly, quite and helpful.
The same question was asked again at the end of the programme in each location. Whilst similar in many regards, the responses were fuller, they resonated more. For example, several adults referred to the ‘community spirit’ (a phrase that had not appeared in the earlier survey) and being ‘connected’. Reference was made to a varied social life, organisations and amenities; one respondent claimed that her community was – “the best in Suffolk, actually best in England.”
STUDENTS: The students’ initial responses included numerous references to their community being ‘boring’ – and almost as many referred to it as being ‘friendly’, ‘fun’ and ‘lively’.
One respondent in Bury St Edmunds referred to their community as having ‘rubbish everywhere’; at the end of the programme, four children said it was ‘littered’, with one commenting that it was ‘ungrateful and unsafe’. Others remarked that it was boring.
Boring was a recurrent theme, with three out of the four locations being accused of being boring by the students – only Felixstowe stood out as the community with exclusively positive statements made about it.
This question was intended to create a snapshot of how participants felt about their community; as such it was “Now I know some of these not expected to produce any significant data. young people by name and I What emerged from the quality and type of answers can say hello to them in the given in the exit survey was a greater sense of cohesion, with several references made to their ‘communities’. street – that would never
This may in some part be attributable to working have happened before. We alongside other adults and the students and developing relationships with them and a sense of ‘belonging’ and all live in the same ‘being known’. community and now I feel I
For example, there have been various anecdotal know them better.” references to chance encounters in the local library or shop; as one adult commented “Now I know some of these young people by name – that would never have happened before – and I can say hello to them in the street – we all live in the same community and now I feel I know them better.”
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 38 of 44 Conclusion
Suffolk at Play was an intergenerational reminiscence project, delivered by Suffolk Artlink in five distinct locations in Suffolk; Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Stradbroke and Stowmarket.
Its purpose was to bring together school children and adults living in the same community, to share and record their memories of childhood games.
This was achieved through a structured programme, beginning with reminiscence training for the students, followed by intergenerational reminiscence work and then animation sessions. All the sessions were delivered by professional facilitators and artists and several included creative activities with a poet and a community artist.
Each location published a full-colour booklet of their shared stories and photographs; they also created short animations which were collated and edited into a DVD; each participant received a copy of the booklet and the DVD.
A special Suffolk at Play Cube was created, to exhibit the DVDs and other artworks created during the project. The Cube has been displayed in participating schools, libraries and local museums and is now on semi-permanent display at the Museum of East Anglian Life.
The Project Officer created a Suffolk at Play blog site to showcase the booklets and animations and also keep participants involved in the project as it progressed. This is viewable at http://suffolkatplay.primaryblogger.co.uk/
The project was also featured on the Suffolk Artlink website, where viewers can also see the booklets and animations. www.suffolkartlink.org.uk
A Childhood Play Handling Box was created and used as a resource during the project; this has now been given to the Museum of East Anglian Life for future use.
Finally, a sixth DVD was created, containing all the animations and with subtitles added. A copy of this DVD, together with copies of the booklets, have been presented to the Suffolk Record Office via the Museum of East Anglian Life and will join the archives and be available to anyone wishing to view them in the future.
Between November 2013 and September 2016, Suffolk at Play worked with 74 individual adults and 85 individual young people, making a total of 159 primary participants. An additional 49 adults directly engaged in the extension activities at care homes and sheltered housing unit in Lowestoft during November 2016, raising that total to 208 primary beneficiaries.
There were 99 secondary beneficiaries – these included adults attending introductory sessions but not going on to join the group and care staff at Cedrus House, who benefited from learning new skills and ways of working with elderly people.
Partner staff totalled 13 – these included museum staff and volunteers, and school staff who actively engaged in supporting the project.
There were 4 volunteers, of whom two were sourced from the museum service and two through Suffolk at Play.
Suffolk at Play was principally funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund, with contributions from the Suffolk Association for Museums and participating schools.
We gratefully acknowledge the in-kind support provided by the schools, libraries and museums involved in Suffolk at Play.
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 39 of 44 Appendix 1:Beneficiaries
Bury St Edmunds 13 Year 8 students from Howard Middle School and 10 members of Moreton Estate Over 60’s Club
Felixstowe 10 x Year 8 students from Felixstowe Academy and 8 adult members of local church groups.
Lowestoft 12 x Year 8 students from East Point Academy together with 9 adult members of local library groups
Stradbroke 10 x Year 8 students, Stradbroke High School with 7 adult members of local library
Stowmarket 12 x Year 6 students from Cedars Park Community Primary School and 23 residents at Cedrus House Care Home
Graph 7: Regular session adult and student participants, by gender
20
18
16
14
12 Boys 10 Girls Male 8 Female
6
4
2
0 Bury St Felixstowe Lowestoft Stradbroke Stowmarket Edmunds
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 40 of 44 28 children took part in the summer holiday activities at Museum of East Anglian Life. Of these, 15 were male and 13 were females and they were all aged between 5 years and 17 years old. 17 adults assisted at the workshops, and of these 16 were female and 1 was male.
Graph 8: Regular session student participants, by age
50
45
40
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15
10
5
0 5 to 6 years 7 to 9 years 10 to 11 years 12 to 13 years 17 years old
Between November 2013 and September 2016, Suffolk at Play worked with 74 individual adults and 85 individual young people, making a total of 159 primary participants.
During November 2016, we worked with an additional 49 adults at residential homes in Lowestoft, making at total of 208 primary participants overall.
There were 99 secondary beneficiaries – these included adults attending introductory sessions but not going on to join the group and care staff at Cedrus House, who benefited from learning new skills and ways of working with elderly people.
Partner staff totalled 13 – these included museum staff and volunteers, and school staff who actively engaged in supporting the project.
There were 4 volunteers, of whom two were sourced from the museum service and two through Suffolk at Play.
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Appendix II: The Facilitators Other contributors Ian Hulland – photographer and coach driver Julie Heathcote – reminiscence facilitator Warren Page – photographer Emma Curtis – animation artist and Fiona McAlpine – audio photographer Caravan – Suffolk at Play Cube design Dean Parkin – poet and maker-of-things- Derek Woodward/Lex Williams Cube with-words construction and painting Caitlin Howells – community artist and maker-of-things-with-things School, Library and Museum support staff Candida Wingate – project officer Helen Stacy and Greg Sadler, Howard Hayley Field – co-Director, Suffolk Artlink Middle School Josh Hunt and Stevie Collins, Felixstowe Volunteers Academy Kelly Charlesworth – Bury St Edmunds Steph Merrett, Felixstowe Library Jenni Barrett – Felixstowe Nicola Ketteringham, East Point Academy, Mary-Lou Owen – Lowestoft Lowestoft Amanda Potter – Lowestoft, Stradbroke and Jane Rothon and Marion Abbs, Lowestoft Stowmarket Library Ruth Hurren and Sally Clark, Stradbroke Partners High School Association for Suffolk Museums Maureen John, Stradbroke Library Ruth Gillan, Lyn Gash Claire Hargreaves and Ann Readman, Ron Murrell and Peter Jones (Moyse’s Hall Stradbroke Village Archive Museum) Mrs Uttley and Mrs Stagg, Cedars Park Pat Cole and Sue Todd (Felixstowe Museum), Community Primary School Elaine Nason (Laxfield Museum) Ursula Scott, Stowmarket Library Lisa Harris and Jo Rooks (Museum of East Sharon, Michelle and staff at Cedars Park Anglian Life) Residential Home Katy Hirst and Rhiannon Lane, Bright Space
Suffolk at Play Evaluation Report Page 42 of 44 Appendix III: Equal Opportunities Data
Gender Number %age Core adult participants at FOUR locations Female 13 86.67 were invited to complete a questionnaire to Male 2 13.33 gain data relating to equal opportunities: this survey was not conducted at the Cedrus House Care Home. Gender reassignment
No 15 93.75 Adults were given the option to complete the Prefer not to say 1 6.25 survey. They were also told they could leave questions blank if they so wished and that the information would remain anonymous. Ethnicity
White British 10 83.33 Envelopes were provided for the completed forms, and a collecting box, so that none of English 1 8.33 the staff was aware of individual responses. White 1 8.33 Some respondents did leave some questions
Disability blank; however, the overall response rate was 16. No 13 81.25 Yes 2 12.5 This represents a 47% response rate on the Prefer not to say 1 6.25 total number of core adult participants at the four locations surveyed.
Religion Using the attendance register, it is possible Christian 12 85.71 to extrapolate that 7 males (21%) and 27 None 2 14.29 females (79%) attended the four locations.
It is not appropriate to extrapolate any Christian further comparative details from the Church of England 7 attendance register.
Unspecified 3
Catholic 1
Methodist 1
Caring responsibilities
No 11 68.75 Yes 3 18.75 Prefer not to say 2 12.5
Sexuality
Heterosexual 14 93.33 Prefer not to say 1 6.67
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Suffolk Artlink, Units 13 & 14, Malt Store Annex, The Cut, 8 New Cut Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY Telephone: 01986 873955 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.suffolkartlink.org.uk
Charity No: 1110898 Company No: 5354844 Data Protection No: Z2348150
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