The chances are, if you’ve been teaching for a while you’ve been involved in numerous after-school clubs - and you’ve got (and, quite possibly, designed and printed) the T-shirt to prove it!
We think that teachers and support staff work hard enough, so when it comes to after-hours clubs we want to offer a bit of extra support to make this happen. This is what Craft Club is about: offering a great inter-generational learning experience for young people, delivered by crafters from your local community in partnership with schools.
We also have news! The Crafts Council is delighted to announce that we are now part of the Arts Award Welcome scheme, meaning we support young people working towards an Arts Award by offering relevant opportunities. See below for further information.
So, you’ve decided your school can benefit from Craft Club. Firstly - good choice, your pupils will have a great time!
Now, let’s get down to how the scheme works:
Step 1: Sign up – simply register online now.
Step 2: Our Craft Club team will broker links with your local volunteer organisation to co-ordinate placements with your school.
Step 3: We will ensure that all volunteers working with you are trained in basic classroom ‘know-how’ at one of our regional training days.
Step 4: Publicise your club. You could get a team of creative young people from your school to design a poster. Perhaps your room is large enough to open up your club to children from other local schools too.
Step 5: Meet your volunteers. We strongly advocate you establish the roles you will each have in delivering Craft Club in your school to build a great, lasting partnership with your volunteer group!
Your volunteer crafters will enhance your pupils’ after-school experience by offering them:
- Some great new crafting skills
- An informal, fun learning experience
- A new adult role model from their local community.
Remember, you will need to be on site at all times to supervise the club as our volunteers are not trained teachers and will not be expecting to manage and discipline your class!
Step 6: Get crafting! Once you launch your club, your students will be dying to show off their amazing work. Encourage them to pop into the ICT suite and upload pictures and videos of their projects onto our Community area. You can also use this area to share ideas and teaching resources with other Craft Clubs to keep your projects fresh and exciting, or simply have a natter in our Forum!
What is Arts Award Welcome?
Arts Award is a qualification that rewards young people with a widely recognised certificate at three levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold), accredited by Trinity College London. The award can be achieved at Bronze, Silver or Gold levels, each of which allows you to focus on a single art form or explore a range.
You’ll end up with a portfolio that shows off your creativity and gives you a recognised national qualification to put on your CV.
Craft Club is our new national campaign for craft learning in schools. Our Arts Award Welcome offer is closely linked to the different levels of participation in Craft Clubs through participating, teaching in a club, or as a springboard for organising other events:
- Bronze award: take part in a club, and share your skills
- Silver award: take up a new challenge, organise an event or lead a Craft Club session
- Gold Award: run a Craft Club and deliver an event for Arts Leadership challenge like a craft sale or a fashion show
So what does Craft Club offer young people? Teachers, you'll be glad to know that it offers a lot...
- An interactive website for learning and networking with makers of all ages. We currently have a wide range of resources, videos and patterns for creative, young knitters, and a forum to share your ideas and get support from Craft Club members. ‘Join up now!’
- After-hours clubs, in schools, colleges and other local venues such as museums and galleries. This is offered as part of the government’s Extended Services scheme, delivered by local volunteers, parents and carers with craft know-how ‘Find out more!’
- Opportunities to get involved in the intergenerational learning community of Craft Clubs. Arts Awardees can pass on their skills to younger children (and we bet they’ve got a lot to offer the older generations, too!).
- A range of progression avenues from organising activities or setting-up a club in a school or venue from scratch. The Craft Club team can provide support and advice to young ‘entrepreneurs’ in running a marketing campaign or a fundraising event in their local area, for example, or promoting an exhibition of work to their local press.
More information on our Arts Award Welcome offer will be coming soon – so keep an eye on The Arts Award website over the coming months.
Read about the governement's Extended Schools Policy
Discover Craft Club's first project Knit 1: Pass In On
