Serious Play
An evaluation of arts activities in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units
Anne Wilkin, Caroline Gulliver and Kay Kinder
National Foundation for Educational Research
2005
£8.50 +p&p, 96 pp
ISBN 978 1 903080 04 7
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This report, commissioned from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), is the first in-depth comparative study of arts projects in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units in England. Evidence from pupils, teachers and artists testifies to the capacity of the arts to engage disaffected young people and to contribute significantly to their educational, social and personal development. NFER’s findings revealed: increased knowledge and skills, improved ability to listen and communicate in a group, markedly better confidence and self-esteem, and, in the place of failure, a sense of achievement, satisfaction and above all of enjoyment.
With the growth of Arts Council England’s regional network of Creative Partnerships, aimed at fostering creativity and cultural activities in schools, especially in disadvantaged areas, Serious Play provides timely recommendations for planning, costing and developing arts projects for excluded children and recommends sustained funding on a larger scale.
‘I think any type of arts intervention for our type of student is imperative. I think we need it more than anything, more than anything at all.’ Teacher, PRU project
‘It’s the sort of thing these kids need. They’ve failed in other ways and they haven’t got the support that some of us have got at home … they can do their own thing and produce something that they are proud of.’ Teacher, PRU project
Anne Wilkin, a Senior Research Officer with the Northern Office of NFER, has worked on projects involving research into pupil disaffection, family and adult literacy, special educational needs and professional development.
Caroline Gulliver, a Research Officer at the NFER’s Northern Office, has contributed to studies on pupil disaffection and vulnerability, as well as school funding.
Kay Kinder is a Principal Research Officer and deputy head of the NFER’s Northern Office. Formerly a primary teacher, she has extensive experience of research into pupil disaffection, the arts and professional development.