Cornerstones of Culture
December 8, 2022
Pushing Boundaries
February 2, 2023
Inspiring action on young people's wellbeing in Greater Manchester
Curious Minds is proud to be working with the University of Manchester, the Anna Freud Centre for Children & Families, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to help make the young people’s wellbeing everyone’s business.
The £2million #BeeWell initiative combines academic expertise with youth-centred decision-making to really understand and inspire action on wellbeing issues facing young people of secondary school age in Greater Manchester. The programme aims to listen to the voices of young people, to work with them to act together for change and to celebrate young people’s wellbeing.
It will run until at least 2024 and comprises multiple strands of activity - including the city-region-wide annual #BeeWell survey, which has been co-created with young people and focuses on collecting comprehensive data on their ‘domains and drivers of wellbeing’. The #BeeWell project team publishes the results from this survey on a neighbourhood level every year, in line with their aim to make young people’s wellbeing everybody’s business.
In addition to working with key partners to interrogate and draw insight from the survey data, Curious Minds’ will be active in supporting two significant project delivery strands of the #BeeWell initiative.
In doing so, we will combine our experise in the field of creative and cultural education with our proven track record catalyst of change, helping to bring about tangible and and sustainable benefits for Greater Manchester’s younger generation.
In addition to working with key partners to interrogate and draw insight from the survey data, Curious Minds’ will be active in supporting two significant project delivery strands of the #BeeWell initiative.
In doing so, we will combine our experise in the field of creative and cultural education with our proven track record catalyst of change, helping to bring about tangible and and sustainable benefits for Greater Manchester’s younger generation.
Strand 1 - #BeeWell with Artsmark
Funded by Arts Council England, Curious Minds will partner with 8 secondary schools – focusing particularly on schools in Wigan and Rochdale - to explore with them how the Artsmark Award framework can be harnessed to address wellbeing and cultural needs within student populations.
Schools will be supported to connect and collaborate with experienced creative providers, using these partnerships to explore how creative arts can be used to address locally specific health and wellbeing issues identified through the #BeeWell data.
In addition, 6 neighbourhood-level 'Curious Commission Delivery Hubs' will be created – 3 in Wigan and 3 in Rochdale. Each hub will comprise of 3 Creative freelancers or grassroots cultural organisations, which will be commissioned specifically to deliver creative health and wellbeing focused activity.
Schools will be supported to connect and collaborate with experienced creative providers, using these partnerships to explore how creative arts can be used to address locally specific health and wellbeing issues identified through the #BeeWell data.
In addition, 6 neighbourhood-level 'Curious Commission Delivery Hubs' will be created – 3 in Wigan and 3 in Rochdale. Each hub will comprise of 3 Creative freelancers or grassroots cultural organisations, which will be commissioned specifically to deliver creative health and wellbeing focused activity.
Strand 2 - #BeeWell Youth Health Champions
Funded by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership and Children In Need, and commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) with University of Manchester, the #BeeWell Youth Health Champions project aims to pioneer a community-wide response to the first set of #BeeWell survey results. It's focus is to enable young people and schools to commission their own interventions, which support the needs identified directly by by young people.
Curious Minds will take a project management role, working in partnership with TIPP, a participatory arts charity and safeguarding specialist organisation.
Teachers from 15 secondary schools across 5 boroughs of Greater Manchester will be trained to support a cohort of 'Young Health Champions' in their schools. These #BeeWell Champions will have access to a funding pot for youth-led commissioning totalling £100k (shared equally across the five neighbourhoods) which will be used to commission activity with local providers. Such activities would take place either on-site in schools or at local venues.
The young #BeeWell Champions will also work towards a RSPH Level 2 Young Health Champions qualification, which includes a Creative Health module. This qualification is equivalent to a GCSE and carries UCAS points.
Curious Minds will take a project management role, working in partnership with TIPP, a participatory arts charity and safeguarding specialist organisation.
Teachers from 15 secondary schools across 5 boroughs of Greater Manchester will be trained to support a cohort of 'Young Health Champions' in their schools. These #BeeWell Champions will have access to a funding pot for youth-led commissioning totalling £100k (shared equally across the five neighbourhoods) which will be used to commission activity with local providers. Such activities would take place either on-site in schools or at local venues.
The young #BeeWell Champions will also work towards a RSPH Level 2 Young Health Champions qualification, which includes a Creative Health module. This qualification is equivalent to a GCSE and carries UCAS points.
What's Next?
As we embark on these exciting projects, our team is already busy working with partners, planning milestones and identifying where and how our training and support can create maximum impact.
Over the coming months, we hope to be able to share some uniquely inspiring stories from the people and places involved in this initiative, and the impacts we’re seeing on the ground.
If you’re curious to know more, please contact Emma Bush, our Director of Sector Development.
Over the coming months, we hope to be able to share some uniquely inspiring stories from the people and places involved in this initiative, and the impacts we’re seeing on the ground.
If you’re curious to know more, please contact Emma Bush, our Director of Sector Development.
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