Craft Club is a national campaign that champions craft in schools and other educational centres.
Get your school, gallery or library crafting! All young people deserve access to a full range of fun and rewarding craft projects as part of their cultural learning. We can help by uniting skilled and enthusiastic volunteers with schools and venues through after-hours clubs. The generous support of our volunteers ensures Craft Club is available free-of-charge to schools/ venues in England.
- Craft Club is all about making and creating – the sky’s the limit, you can make anything you want.
- You’ll have fun, while gaining new skills that will stay with you for life. Have a look at the patterns and how-to instructions in our download section
- You’ll find out about how people earn a living from crafts, doing something they love. Craft is much more than a great hobby!
- Be enterprising! Craftspeople make their work to sell. You could even organise a school craft fair to fundraise for your school or a local charity.
- Craft Club is a great chance to make some new friends, or catch up with your old ones in a laid back, creative atmosphere. Share your ideas and give each other advice and feedback to make your projects amazing.
- You can also sign in to upload pictures and videos online, and chat in our friendly Forum.
- Impress people with your new know-how by crafting hand-made gifts and wearable accessories! This will save you some cash too.
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.
Find Out More
Read about the governement's Extended Schools Policy
Discover Craft Club's first project Knit 1: Pass In On
