Collusion Theatre has been working with young people with additional needs since the company?s inception in 1999. The experience we have gained led to the company hosting a recent conference on inclusion, with particular reference to young people and access to the performing arts, held at the Tramway in Glasgow in March, says Heather Lambie.
The conference began with the assertion that inclusion is an important yet still contentious issue. With the advent of the Scottish Executive?s Support for Learning Bill, it is of paramount importance that projects such as our own ?Activate? project (more about that later) continue to receive support from policy and decision-makers. The aim of the conference was to provoke discussion and to map the shifts in thinking in the arts and education.
Our extensive experience of working with young people with additional needs has led to an appreciation of not just the benefits of inclusion, but also of the difficulties and the practical implications. We have consistently been concerned with creating opportunities for young people which encourages their imagination, awareness, integration and understanding. The aim has been to support all children?s abilities and needs which are often very complex and diverse and to encourage participation by those who are affected by disability. There is an open access policy on most projects involving young people and the experience and expertise of the tutors with whom we work ensures that all young people are encouraged to work to the best of their ability.
We believe that it is imperative that the work undertaken does not patronise the young people involved, whether mainstream or with additional needs, and that they too are challenged and thus receive greater benefit and reward. The emphasis is not just upon the huge social and personal benefits of such drama provision (communications skills, imagination, confidence) for all young people, but also the artistic quality. To compromise on this level is to fail to give the participants the respect they deserve.
The Activate project began in 2002 in three local authority areas ? Angus, East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire ? each with an additional needs drama group and a separate mainstream drama group. Although the mainstream group is not closed to those with additional needs, it was felt more appropriate, in the first instance, to have a group that catered specifically for people with disabilities. The aim was to allow this group to become a cohesive unit and to establish the benefits for the young people before integrating it with the other group in order to work specifically towards a performance project. It was of importance that inclusion was meaningful and lasting and mutually beneficial for both groups. This has demonstrably led to an increased understanding and tolerance. As our work has suggested, and as all the speakers at the Activate conference made clear, the main barriers in this area relate to social obstacles.
Heather Lambie is Administrator of Collusion Theatre Company. t: 0141 644 0163;
e: admin@collusiontheatre.co.uk.