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