EVALUATION REPORT 2018-9 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. CONTEXT 3

2. INTRODUCTION 4

3. METHODOLOGY 5

4. LEARNING PROGRAMME 6

5. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 8

6. REPLICATE 9

7. INNOVATE 10

8. PARTNER 11

9. BUILDING GEOGRAPHICAL REACH 12

10. ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING 13

11. CONCLUSIONS 16

2 CONTEXT

Little Green Pig (LGP) is a registered charity based in & who offer free Little Green Pig Vision writing workshops for children and young people (CYP) in Brighton & Hove and . We believe that writing can LGP serves all young people in the city but focus resources on young people most in positively change lives. Our need. They do this through the strategic partnerships they develop, the varied vision is that all children and programme they deliver and the locations in which they work. young people in Sussex have LGP began in 2008 with two weekly after school writing workshops, inspired by a space and time to write for writing centre and shop for pirates set up in San Francisco by writer Dave Eggers called pleasure and purpose, and the 826 Valencia. LGP is now part of a network of similar writing organisations across the opportunity to share their stories. world, from the Labo des Histoires in Paris, France, to 100 Story Building in Sydney, Australia.

LGP continues to work with a wide range of partners to draw inspiration, share best To date, LGP has worked with practice and engage with new ideas. As well as advocating for the power of writing to over 3000 children and young people, trained 250 volunteers transform young people’s lives, LGP works in local schools where pupils experience and is working with a growing social or educational disadvantage, as well as continuing to have an active out-of-school number of professional writers provision. All sessions are facilitated by dedicated workshop leaders and supported by a and artists. team of trained volunteers.

3 INTRODUCTION Autumn Arts Award, with Towner Gallery, Bourne Primary School and after school clubs Everyday & Extraordinary project with Towner Gallery, Bourne Primary School and after school clubs In the 2018-19 academic year, LGP Authors, Illustrators, Icons & Legends workshop with Hove Junior published a new three-year strategy School Storymaking workshops with Queens Park Primary School document with clear targets for East Sussex Music Service Big Sing in Firle Church of England Primary organisational and programme School, Cradle Hill Community Primary School, Seaford Head School, The Baird Primary Academy and St John's, Crowborough growth. The strategic plan sets some Shoebox Stories workshop at Fabrica Gallery key objectives for the learning programme, recognising the Spring potential to reach more young people with high quality experiences through replicating successful 6 Boxes Graphic Novel Project with after school clubs projects and delivering them in new Storymaking workshop at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School geographical settings.

Building on the evaluation from the previous academic year, the Summer following report explores how LGP Past, Present, Future film project with after school clubs has begun to deliver on these AMPLIFIED with Me, Myself, Us with Virtual School ambitions. Storymaking workshop at Burgess Hill Library Travel guide workshops with Bourne Primary School We are all creative workshop at Fabrica Gallery Storymaking, comic strip and writings activities in Newhaven

4 METHODOLOGY

LGP collected evaluation data in the following ways: o Participation data o CYP self-assessment at the beginning and end of sessions o Plenaries with CYP at the end of workshop sessions o CYP self assessment using an Evaluation Wheel o Debriefs with volunteers at the end of every session o Informal feedback from teachers and parents at the end of sessions and showcase events o Feedback from workshop leaders

For the purposes of this report the following terms will be used:

LGP – Little Green Pig

CYP – Children and Young People

This year – will refer to the academic year of September 2018 - August 2019 (including the summer holiday)

5 LEARNING PROGRAMME

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS RANGE OF STIMULI Poetry and poets Arts Award Graphic novel artist and writer This year LGP piloted Explore and Discover Arts Award in its work. Working in partnership Young people’s life experience with Towner Gallery, LGP concurrently delivered Arts Award through after school clubs in Gallery exhibition Brighton & Hove. As a result of this project 100% of participants achieved Arts Award; 107 Filmed performance CYP in total, with 59 at Discover and 48 at Explore level. In addition to the achievements of Photo documentation of daily life participants, LGP workshop leaders and volunteers gained valuable skills and experience in Interviews with members of the delivering the award. community Local landmarks The Everyday and Extraordinary This project involved two new partners in Eastbourne. CYP from Bourne Primary School had SHARING WRITING workshops in school and at Towner Gallery to write poetry inspired by the Arts Council Live public performance England Collection. The final pieces were performed on film and shared at a public event at Published graphic novel the gallery. As well as achieving excellent outcomes for the young participants, the project Radio performance consolidated partnership working in the new geographical area. Furthermore, working with Filmed performance partners in this way resulted in some valuable learning for the LGP team as they build a Anthology of new writing Documentary of CYP activity wider geographical reach. Filmed performance Six Boxes Graphic Novel Project Whilst LGP has done one-off comic book and illustration workshops before, this was the first TYPES OF WRITING Poetry project focused solely on this art form. In twelve weeks of workshops over three after school Graphic novel clubs, sixty children met with professional artist Ottilie Hainsworth to explore the graphic Public speech novel as a medium for telling stories. CYP created and illustrated their own individual stories Radio performance over six boxes, which were published in a collection. The collection was launched at the best Filmed performance attended launch event to date. The project was developed in partnership with the artist Historical fiction Ottilie Hainsworth, who originally started as a volunteer illustrator with LGP and she is now a Imagined diary entries published author/illustrator. Future postcards 6 LEARNING PROGRAMME PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

AMPLIFIED A group of young people aged 12-19 explored their own life experiences in a series of workshops, supported by professional writers, workshop leaders and volunteers. Their stories were shared at three live public speaking events, including to an audience of 150 at LGP has given him a boost to the main public event as part of Brighton Festival 2019. Feedback from participants, families pursue his dreams at a time when and audiences was overwhelmingly positive, citing that the project resulted in greater he feels unseen, unheard and confidence for the participants and the audiences gained greater understanding of the unvalued…Brighton is full of challenges YP face. LGP staff and CYP also featured on , BBC Sussex and a series cultural courses but for Joss of four films documenting the stories. nearly all of them are in Me, Myself, Us (film & publication) accessible, LGP have beautifully After hearing about AMPLIFIED, Brighton & Hove City Council commissioned LGP to work included him and given him a with the Virtual School, supporting CYP in care to explore their identity and personal story. platform to shine. This was both a new partnership and new group of CYP who accessed LGP. CYP expressed Parent / guardian their individual stories in a range of mediums, including poetry, prose and illustration. The participants displayed outstanding bravery and openness to produce work for the end publication and film. I have seen a huge change in [P]. Past, Present, Future film project Her confidence is through the This project brought CYP together with communities from across the city, crossing age roof. She loves to share all she barriers and ethnicities, and encouraging empathy, sharing and learning about each other’s does with everyone. Little Green lives. Each group focused on one of the three strands (past, present or future) over 6 weeks. Pig has been amazing for my The 50 children, aged 7 -11, visited local landmarks or community spaces, interviewed daughter… people from their communities and used their research to create original writing pieces. The Parent / guardian writing, pictures, interviews and audio were edited into a final 16 minute film which was shared online, at a public event and in local school assemblies, reaching over 600 people. Two young participants and the Learning Manager will also be interviewed on Latest TV about their experience in the project in November 2019. 7 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

2017-18 2018-19

Number of young people worked with: 849 724

Number of creative experiences: 1993 2294 LGP delivered a rich and varied learning programme to (one child partaking in one workshop) 724 young people this academic year. Working with Arts Award enabled LGP to work in a more focused way. Number of workshops run: 136 139 Consequently, the number of CYP worked with went down and the number of individual creative experiences rose. LGP also increased the number of Number of schools worked with: 17 22 one-off workshops delivered, expanded its geographical reach along the coast and worked with more schools.

Number of after school clubs: 3 3 LGP continued to deliver the same number of after school clubs. However, this year all after school clubs Number of professional artists & writers took place in primary schools, with an additional school 9 9 engaged: coming on board this year.

LGP worked with professional artists and writers across Number of volunteers: 52 80 the projects. To manage the growing programme, LGP grew the volunteer pool and provided more individual Number of volunteer opportunities : 367 461 opportunities for volunteers. (one volunteer supporting one workshop) LGP delivered a slightly increased number of projects, Number of full scale projects: 6 7 and has ambitions to deliver a greater number of projects in the coming academic year. 8 REPLICATE

LGP’s model of working provides a structure to the varied projects LGP offer. Fundamental to I had the honour of hosting a this is working with professional writers and illustrators and providing projects with a showcase of young Brighton beginning, middle and end. All projects culminate in a creative sharing of the work CYP writers mentored by create. @littlegreenpig1 this eve. Brave, powerful, skilled, LGP added a new after school club in Primary School this year, building on the candid and genuinely successful residential partnership in 2017-8. invigorating young voices. Wow. I heard a gut punching LGP also experimented with increasing the access to different project themes by repeating piece from a 19 year old from the content of new projects in other settings. For example, the planned activity for the Afghanistan seeking asylum Towner Gallery and Bourne Primary school project was shared and used in after school clubs. here in the UK, completely This approach benefited existing participants by giving them access to a wider range of alone here without his family experiences and enabled LGP workshop leaders and volunteers to both build on new skills and how he has found they developed and make best use of resources. community and friendship at a LGP gave more audiences the opportunity to share the work that LGP participants created Brighton ping pong cafe. I with an increased number of performances and performing to larger audiences. heard stories about growing up autistic, stories about a lads relationship with his grandad, stories about difficult periods of mental health. All LOCAL PERFORMANCES from young people between Brighton Festival 2019 12 and 19. I wept and laughed East Sussex Music Service Big Sing and felt completely inspired. Our Place Cecilia Knapp Radio Reverb BBC Sussex Children in Care conference, 2019 9 INNOVATE LGP ran seven fresh projects this year. As well as new writing outputs, new stimuli and new ways of working, LGP created a new way to engage for older YP with the AMPLIFIED project. LGP trialled working with a primary school in a new way, providing coaching and mentoring alongside workshop provision to support leadership in writing. With the Everyday & Extraordinary project, LGP worked with partners to embed Arts Award in project and after school activity for the first time. The learning from this approach has led to a new offer for partners and a new way for CYP to be recognised for the work they create. LGP built on different ways for CYP to explore their own development as writers by trialling a new Evaluation Wheel and providing new opportunities to share their work.

10 PARTNER

LGP has worked with 12 new partners this year as well as maintaining long term partnerships with organisations like Fabrica, who commissioned a workshop alongside every new “I have seen how much he exhibition. Several of these new partners commissioned LGP to run projects, enabling LGP to enjoyed his time with Little begin diversifying funding streams and become less reliant on seeking funding. Green Pig, the positive encouragement from the A greater diversity of partnerships has raised LGP’s profile of across the wider geographical staff has greatly improved region in which they aim to develop new work. For example, the East Sussex Music Service his confidence one step at Big Sing workshops led to written work being performed at six events across East Sussex to a time. [A] hates reading, thousands of people. but I noticed he loves to write, perhaps that is These new projects have also enabled LGP to work with new groups of young people. The because he knows he can partnership with the Virtual School engaged a new audience of children in care and led to a write something that is publication of an anthology, and being part of a launch event to over 200 teachers and being noticed...” practitioners in Brighton. The Brighton Festival partnership enabled LGP to raise its profile Parent/guardian and be part of the festival for the first time.

LOCAL PARTNERS SCHOOLS WHO RECRUIT FOR AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS BHCC Virtual School CE Primary School Brighton Festival 2019 Carlton Hill Primary School Bourne Primary School City Academy Burgess Hill Library Primary School Creative Blend Middle Street Primary School East Sussex Music Service Moulsecoomb Primary School Moulsecoomb Primary School St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School Newhaven Family Forum St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School, Propellernet St Mark's CE Primary School Queens Park Primary School St Martin's CE Primary School St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Towner Gallery 11 BUILDING GEOGRAPHICAL REACH

In the 2018-9 academic year, LGP continued 2017-8 2018-9 to deliver workshops and events across central Brighton; achieving its strategic aim to reach communities in need throughout the city. With the help of Arts Council England funding this year, LGP was able to expand delivery along the coastal strip, and develop new cultural partnerships with Towner Gallery and Brighton Festival.

Type of venue Schools: Libraries: Cultural, business &

Bourne Primary School, Eastbourne Burgess Hill Library, Burgess Hill community spaces:

Hove Park School, Brighton Jubilee Library, Brighton The Barge, Brighton Hillcrest Centre, Newhaven Moulsecoomb Primary School, Brighton Whitehawk Library, Brighton The Bevy, Brighton Propellernet, Brighton Queen’s Park School, Brighton , Brighton The Open Market, Brighton St Bartholomew’s C of E Primary School, Brighton Conference & Festival venues: Fort Park, Newhaven Towner Gallery, Eastbourne Brighthelm Centre, Brighton LGP work was also showcased in venues across East Sussex University of Sussex, Falmer as part of the East Sussex Music Service Big Sing. 12 ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING

Arts Award As with all new approaches, delivering the Arts Award was challenging, particularly around the additional administration of the project, understanding the language of the award and articulating the process to volunteers who had not worked with Arts Award before. Furthermore, the natural ebb and flow of the after school clubs meant children were often not present for evidence sessions. Whilst the project team were able to use the Towner Gallery logbook, it was very geared towards visual art which did not always work ideally for the project. However, learning about the arts organisation, artists and authors as part of the project was interesting for participants who also enjoyed receiving the accreditation at the end. The LGP team have used their learning from this initial project to develop LGP specific resources and more ideas on how the framework can be integrated into delivery. LGP sees the potential of Arts Award as a way of them getting the CYP work recognised more formally.

Measuring impact LGP continued to support young people to self-assess their own writing and experiences this year, introducing the Evaluation Wheel, developed as part of the First Story partnership. The wheel focuses on the skills the young people identify they have developed. However, it was challenging getting all CYP to understand what was expected. The language of the wheel needs more consistent use throughout the sessions to develop greater confidence in using it effectively. A modified wheel will be used throughout the 2019-20 academic year. Working with Arts Award framework has also given CYP another way to collect their experiences. Partnerships Working with partners is a crucial part of the effective delivery of the LGP programme. Developing new projects requires more time to be built in to develop these relationships fully and ensure that all roles and responsibilities are outlined for projects. Ongoing relationship development with schools is also necessary, even when a successful residency has already happened at that location. Staff turnover and changing priorities can mean that relationships change quickly and LGP needs to remain responsive to this. The development of the LGP offer enables a more flexible approach to staying relevant to partners.

13 Provision for older young people This year LGP worked with new audiences of young people. Whilst experienced in working with young people from low socio-economic backgrounds, some of this year’s projects engaged older young people and young people with different backgrounds and needs.

The AMPLIFIED project shared stories that ranged from living with complex disabilities to immigration to being a teenager. The workshop leaders and volunteers were successful in creating a safe space for those young people to explore their stories. However, it was difficult to predict prior to the sessions what some of the concerns might be. Having completed the first year, LGP is more confident in how to support volunteers to work with new groups of CYP sharing personal stories, to ensure YP are treated consistently throughout the sessions and all young people’s experiences were valued equally. How this journey has been supported effectively is crucial to providing valuable provision for this age group and has led to the development of new opportunities for the coming academic year. Some of the young people who engaged with AMPLIFIED had come up through the after school clubs and will go on to be mentors for next year’s AMPLIFIED participants. LGP’s strategic aims include having young people represented on the LGP board and a young people’s council to find solutions to this provision.

14 Sharing Film projects, and showcasing projects using film, have proved popular with CYP and the resulting films are a great way to engage more people with LGP. LGP have increased their work in this medium this year. However, working with new partners has led to different challenges with sharing work. LGP experienced difficulty sharing and reviewing work with the Virtual School due to Brighton & Hove City Council firewalls. In addition, creating a film of CYP responses was built into the Everyday & Extraordinary project and LGP was unable to make the film public due to labelling and video restrictions from Arts Council England Collection. Re-editing the film required additional resources and time, which delayed the sharing of the project. Being aware of these potential challenges, LGP is in a better position to identify potential risks at the beginning of a project. Diversification of funding Challenges to funding this year have led to some positive strategies to diversify funding streams. Replicating previous successes and delivering more one-off workshops will enable LGP to get more out of existing resources. LGP has also developed streams of activity to look at more longer term funding as part of the strategic plan.

15 CONCLUSIONS

LGP continues to offer inspirational and transformative experiences for young people. This year LGP expanded the range of age, geography and personal circumstances participants came from. Whilst this presented new challenges for the team, the solidification of the offer and experienced workshop leaders, volunteers and professionals who support the projects ensured they were delivered to a high level of success.

LGP embeds the sharing of projects within their development, whether through performance or printed assets. This year has seen a growth in the number of films created as part of projects, which are useful assets in sharing the experience of participation for CYP. As the cohort of CYP develops and people engage with LGP at different stages of their youth, there are more opportunities to capture and understand the journey young people take through different projects and how CYP from different backgrounds experience different types of input. Confidence in telling the story of projects as case studies will continue to raise the profile of LGP’s offer with potential partners and potential participants, leading to greater understanding about LGP’s impact over time.

LGP continues to offer a range of access points and mediums to write in and for, encouraging CYP to think of themselves as creative. One of the key outcomes in feedback from parents is the growth of confidence in the young participants. Whether this is in speaking their ideas aloud, sharing finished work or applying their experiences in new settings. Inevitably, practicing these skills has led to further development in skills associated with writing, such as handwriting or story structure.

The AMPLIFIED project demonstrates how the LGP model and the skill of the delivery team can support new formats and new cohorts of participants. The performance and conversations around the project led to other work and the development of new partnerships. Expanding and maintaining partnerships remains crucial in developing and delivering LGP’s offer. Through developing and consolidating their programme of activity, LGP will be able to replicate and reinvigorate existing projects, whilst dedicating more resources to innovating and building organisational resilience.

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