Arts For Students With Special Educational Needs
The Common Ground Arts programme brings high-quality artist residencies to the seven schools in the Birmingham Special School Cooperative trust: Fox Hollies, Baskerville, Dame Ellen Pinsent, Longwill, Wilson Stuart, The Pines and Hamilton.
As a cooperative, the schools reach over 1000 students aged 3-19 with special educational needs. Each school supports students with a range of SEN needs including deaf children and student with severe learning disabilities, autism, physical and medical disabilities.
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Common Ground Arts programme aims to create meaningful arts access for these students with SEN, who experience significant barriers to mainstream arts curriculum,opportunities, organisations and events.
The programme uses a school improvement and outreach model to hire artists to collaborate with teaching staff and students. Each individual school collaborates with an artist to plan and deliver a bespoke, accessible and engaging arts residency for the students.
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All seven schools work towards an exhibition at the Midlands Arts Centre in June. The exhibition displays art pieces created by each school in a collective exhibition, and shares the students’ Artistic journey with a projected film documenting their experiences. The exhibition showcases the artistic achievements of SEN students for the wider community.
• Wilson Stuart used Sensory UV textiles and host the Glow festival as part of their contribution to the project
Common Ground Arts 2023 culminates in a public exhibition at the Midlands Arts Centre on 27th-30th June