Nexus have been involved in Otherwise creative since 2008 and pupils have worked with a variety of artists at The Point and in their centre.  Last year, pupils worked with musician Phill Howley and adults with learning difficulties who attend Cedar Social Education Centre.

The aim of the work was for young people from Nexus to develop drumming skills along with social and personal skills from working with, and supporting the adults at Cedar.  

Phill explains the process:

The aims of my work with Nexus pupils were social and artistic. I wanted to really challenge the young people to develop a relationship with the adults who have learning difficulties at Cedar Centre and to deal with quite challenging and difficult things, things that they might not have come across before. Artistically the aim was to produce something that sounded good and that they enjoyed creating.

The journey from school to Cedar Centre, a ten minute walk accompanied by one member of staff, placed a high level of trust on pupils - and they responded positively. This sense of responsibility was deliberately continued once in the centre.

One of our first tasks was to establish codes of behaviour. Pupils were asked what they thought was reasonable behaviour; this was then discussed and agreed by all. These guidelines meant pupils were clear what was expected of them.

Inside the drumming activity they were able to play and experiment with volume and speed. Outside of the activity, when we were getting drinks and interacting with others, they needed to behave in a different way and take responsibility for what they were doing.

This social interaction, where they joined in conversations with adults (Nexus staff, Cedar clients and Cedar staff), helped pupils to build up connections and confidence through shared interests. 

One young person had a conversation each week with the same person about the latest football matches. This led to a noticeable change in behaviour and self-regulation.  Those young people who attended regularly began to act as peers to others, saying ‘don’t mess about, you shouldn’t be doing that’.