Pushing Boundaries

Why we knew this project was needed

Pushing Boundaries was developed in response to a piece of research Curious Minds had commissioned in 2019, through which we hoped to better understand the experience of children who have experienced forced migration in schools across the North West of England. We were particularly interested to learn how schools were (or could be) using art and creativity to help welcome, support and integrate children and young people arriving in the UK who have experienced conflict or instability.

This research concluded that:

1. There is a lack of creative activity available to newly arrived children, with the focus being primarily on maths and English due to the constraints of the National Curriculum.
2. There are few positive creative role models for them within the school environment, due to a predominantly white workforce in both the teaching profession and the freelance arts sector.

An intervention designed to empower

To achieve the best possible outcomes from the programme, we chose to partner with Community Arts Northwest (CAN) - an arts organisation with considerable experience and interest in arts and migration. Together, we built a delivery model that blended ingredients from Curious Minds' arts leadership CPD with CAN’s experience of running training for new migrant and refugee artists.

Also central to the success of the programme was the involvement of 4 artists as specialist mentors - who already delivered effective classroom-based projects - and a committed and enthusiastic group of teachers who would act as our school-liaison team.

The project recruited 7 recently arrived international artists, originating from countries including Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia and Palestine. These artists were each matched to a mentor and were offered a carefully curated package of training before going on to gain practical experience by taking up placements and delivering creative sessions in 6 schools across Greater Manchester.

In this way, the artists were empowered to overcome barriers through lived experience. They increased their practical understanding of the British educational system, gained referenceable experience and were supported to build new networks and connections in the sector.

• 6 bespoke training days were delivered by Curious Minds and partner

• 442 young people benefited from creative workshops delivered in school by the international artists

• 42 mentoring sessions took place to support the artists’ development and delivery

The school placement felt like a real achievement. Having some support from my mentor to plan lessons was useful and I think my dance classes sparked inspiration for the young people.

Masresha, Pushing Boundaries Artist

Naturally, we were over the moon to receive this recognition, which reflects the hard work of the team involved as well as the quality and importance of the initiative as a whole. Pushing Boundaries was a very intentional project for Curious Minds – responding to a specific need whilst also addressing our strategic objective of diversifying the teaching artist workforce.

Working with diverse artists supports children's confidence, wellbeing and aspirations. It tackles educational inequalities and helps to build community cohesion. Pushing Boundaries recognises the talents, skills and experiences that migrant artists can bring to the UK school system - to the immense benefit of all children and young people.

Looking to the future, we are constantly looking to identify sources of funding that will enable us to develop and roll out this award-winning project again, to benefit even more artists, children and schools.

For us, it was the impact of exposing the children to different art forms and different cultures. Amang’s approach and style was very different from the way we would usually teach art at GCSE or A level; it was a breath of fresh air.

Matt King-Sayce, Director of Drama

Curious to know more?

If you’re interested in learning more about our work to support teaching artists of all backgrounds and to diversify the creative learning workforce, we’d love to hear from you. A detailed independent evaluation report of Pushing Boundaries is available on request.

You can email us or get in touch using the contact details below.