We have made some important changes to how we quality assure Arts Award. The changes to the quality assurance process will improve the assessment and certification process for centres allowing greater focus on the delivery of Arts Award for young people.
In practice, this will mean that the majority of centres will no longer be moderated every time they enter young people for Arts Award certification. For more detailed information, read our News and FAQs and check the Enter Young People section of our website.
A big part of your role as an Arts Award adviser is supporting young people to access opportunities in the arts and then to gather and present evidence of their work that may be moderated when you enter them for Arts Award.
One of the unique things about Arts Award is that young people can use any format – written, visual, audio, digital, 3D (or a mixture) – to create their portfolio or 'arts log' demonstrating what they've learned. We've seen videos, blogs, PowerPoint slideshows, photo-stories, podcasts, websites and more. What's important is that each one clearly shows evidence of the young person's achievements and progress, as set out in your adviser toolkit.
Before starting Arts Award, consider how your young people might want to present their evidence and any resources or equipment they may need. Let the resources and examples below inspire you, but think about how to support the young people you work with to develop their own style. What formats will work best for them and for the projects you are working on?
Some advisers use our specially designed arts logs for Discover, Explore and Bronze awards available from our shop. There is also the option to use our range of free downloadable resources available from the resource library on the adviser hub. These include portfolio building templates for Discover, Explore, Bronze, Unit 1 and Unit 2 of Silver and Unit 1 and Unit 2 of Gold. We also host arts logs designed for young people aged 11+ who are completing Discover and Explore. Arts Award Voice also host dedicated Hubs for Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Arts Award Voice Hubs offer step-by-step guidance and examples to help young people through these levels as well as downloadable prompt sheets young people can use to build their evidence.
Others design their own arts logs tailored to their project. (We've produced guidelines to help you do this and we're happy to review your drafts.) And many let the young people themselves decide the format – often with creative results.
Arts Award portfolios don't have to be paper-based. Young people can make all or part of their portfolio in digital formats or online, this will also support easy preparation if you are selected for moderation.
They might use free online tools such as Blogspot or WordPress, or upload work to social networking sites including Facebook, Flickr or Vimeo. Download our resource on some of the digital platforms that other centres have used but do remember that you will need to ensure the portfolio is in a format where you can upload it to the platform we use for moderation or share a publicly accessible link to the portfolio online, for example on a blog.
Arts Award on Voice highlights a range of digital portfolio tools and gives real-life examples of how young people have used them. There's also a handy guide to how, as an adviser, you can use Arts Award on Voice – both as a support resource yourself and for giving young people inspiration for their own portfolio.
Another key thing to consider in your delivery of Arts Award is how you will offer young people the chance to engage with Arts and Cultural organisations and practitioners. There are opportunities to do this at each level of Arts Award through participating in the arts, being an audience member and finding out about the work artists do.
Its great if this interaction is live and active but its also perfectly possible to do it online if budget or project limitations prevent this, for example you can watch an online theatre performance for Part B of Bronze Arts Award. You can find more useful tips on delivering Arts Award remotely on our blog.
If you want to find ways to engage with the sector but aren’t sure who to approach then check out our Arts Award Supporters, who offer events, activities and opportunities which help young people achieve their Arts Award.
Arts Award is about the artistic journey rather than the destination, so encourage participants to capture evidence as they go along – photographs, sketches, recordings, interviews, diaries, emails… anything. A good portfolio/arts log doesn't just explain what they've done, but also why they've done it, how they think it went, what they've learned in the process and what their next steps might be. Take a look at our guides to evidencing achievement and evidencing Arts Award for young people with learning difficulties for tips.
Regularly review your group's portfolios/arts logs to make sure they're on track for successful completion. They should be well organised and easy to navigate for assessment and moderation (if needed).
Arts Award on Voice is a website created to help young people make the most of Arts Award, with dedicated hubs for Bronze, Silver and Gold candidates. Bursting with advice and inspiration, it's great place for your learners to get ideas, share their work and connect with peers. They can also check out the range of videos from young people about their portfolios on Arts Award Voice for inspiration and advice.
We offer a wealth of support to Arts Award advisers too, from our blog, free support sessions and webinars (including sessions on creating portfolios and 'arts logs').
You can also get advice from the Arts Award support team by emailing artsawardenquiries@trinitycollege.co.uk or booking in a support call.