Community arts training in Slough recognised as best practice
A Slough Borough Council toolkit which helps community groups run their own arts projects, has been recognised as an example of ‘extreme’ best practice by the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) and SEEDA (South East England Development Agency).
The Community Arts Training Scheme (CATS) which has been running for 14 years, was devised by the Arts Development team at Slough Council with local artist, Christine Wilkinson. It is a practical course for people who want to run arts projects in their community and is delivered through talks, workshops, group projects and discussions.
The toolkit was produced so that arts officers in other councils could adapt the course to run in their own areas. Surrey, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire are just some of the councils which are already running CATS.
To date, more than 300 people have been through the course in Slough, which has helped people to run projects such as Slough Crossroads’ summer arts activities for disabled children and their carers, Slough West Indian People’s Enterprise (SWIPE)’s steel pan factory and Two Left Feet’s inclusive dance classes.
The groups who have participated in the training have successfully attracted more than £1 million in funding for their local arts projects.
The council is now planning to formally launch the toolkit at the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers Conference in June. The toolkit costs £25 per copy.
Louise O’Dwyer Barnard, arts development officer for Slough Borough Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this recognition.
“The CATS training over the years has equipped many local groups in Slough with the skills to run their own projects, enabling some to run fantastic projects that have grown right out of the communities that they benefit.
“Our aim now is spread the word about the toolkit to other councils, with our big launch in June.”
Miranda Pearce, urban renaissance manager for SEEDA, said: “The CATS toolkit was assessed as part of the South East Excellence’s Tools of the Trade expert panel which has been managed by BURA.
“Through this assessment, the CATS toolkit was recognised to be one of the top, in terms of content, accessibility and practicality, and has been uploaded onto the South East Excellence website under the resources section.”
Slough Borough Council