Project updates

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December – Looking forward!

BAAT, BADth and BAMT have been busy planning how best to offer a research scholarship in the new year to benefit all three professions. This is an exciting piece of work as it brings together funded opportunities together with long term planning of the professions.

The Art, Drama, and Music Therapy career framework document is well underway. Another review has offered important additions to reflect on and implement; with the nuances across the professions being discussed, as well as levels, skills, and competencies finely tuned. Much hard work has been put in to this project, to drive towards a clear road map of the different stages of a career in Art, Drama, and Music Therapy.

The HEI leads across art, drama, and music therapy courses have met again to further the discussion on placement hours, with an enthusiasm to arrive at a consensus by the end of the commission to enable funding opportunities. The collaborative effort is another step towards future proofing the professions, and championing best practice.

 

November – Curricula guidance, and guiding our films!

Steps towards alignment across Art, Drama, and Music Therapy curricula guidance has begun in earnest, to make space for learning across the professions and to enable funding opportunities. Art Therapy leads have met this month specifically to work up their profession’s curricula, with the helpful input from both Music and Dramatherapy current guidance.

We have been guiding our films through pre-production, reaching out to our role models across the professions to feature in them. Many of these films are tied to the hard work being done towards a career framework for the Art, Drama, and Music Therapy professions. These films aim to bring this work to life and showcase professionals at different stages of their career, reflecting on the different routes, experiences, and further trainings one might explore.

Service Users have sent in their audio feedback on the professions, interested to be involved our films. Their contributions have been reviewed and organised. We’re really looking forward to sharing these poignant, and honest perspectives, as they reflect on their experiences of Art, Drama, and Music Therapy. This month their voices have been edited together, to help us craft films that amplify the service user’s experience; for the public to hear directly from those who may advocate for the professions best. Our animation house are currently storyboarding these meaningful films.

 

October – Lighting the career paths!

Much focus has been directed towards developing the Career Framework across the professions, a Working Group met to discuss the draft proposal and feedback is being reviewed for next steps. The outcome will be a comprehensive document to showcase the skills and competencies attributed to Art, Drama, and Music Therapy professionals at different stages of their career. This document will enable professionals to review their own development and help them to consider future trainings or direction, in context to the wider professional landscape.

Joining back up with with the programme course leads, a very positive and constructive meeting took place to consider the clinical and simulation hours required for professional registration and how a consensus may look across Art, Drama and Music Therapy programmes. This consensus will enable important funding opportunities for students and placement employers alike, ensuring those who want to train, can! We look forward to meeting again for next steps.

Pre-production is now officially underway! Our films to showcase the different stages of career are being thoughtfully considered in line with our career framework development. These films will offer important insights from experienced ‘Role Models’ across our professions, and showcase a breadth of directions and perspectives – bringing the career pathways to life.

 

September – Spotlighting Service Users & compiling our reports!

The month began with a Course Leads focus group. It was great to have so many involved across Art, Drama, and Music Therapy programmes. More specifically, discussions centered on inclusivity and admissions processes. The forum offered a place to discuss best practice across the professions and to reflect together on those applying to train and what support may be required. We look forward to more discussions with them next month!

The largest piece of work that has been underway, has been the compiling of our reports across Art, Drama, and Music Therapy. Each professional body has elected a representative to review and create a synthesis of the data captured, from: service users, public polling, employers, the memberships and trainees. This important report underpins our Project A aims towards raising public awareness of the professions as well as informing both our important curricula and career conversations, of Project B and C. Planning is underway for Practice Placement educators, as well as lecturers and workshop facilitators to contribute further to this work.

Lastly, our most exciting launch has been our call-out to service users to contribute to our films directly! It has been important to us to hear from those who have experienced the therapeutic benefits of the professions first hand. We want to hear their voices, aiming to hear from those across the UK, and across demographic boundaries.

August – A dialogue with you!

A huge amount of work has been underway this summer month. Primarily, the work has centred on finalising our data collection tasks of Project A and B. This has included recieving and reviewing the results of our public polls, with a secondary analysis now underway for the benefit of the commission’s aims.

More practically, we have run a number of focus groups. We have been really pleased and grateful for the turn out and willingness to contribute by so many. It has been important to us to reach out to those across the UK and across different sectors to ensure we are getting as clear an image as possible of the current experience, perspectives, and key take aways of the professions. We have held forums with Service Users across art, drama, and music therapy, and with Employers of therapists across the professions. All of which have garnered essential feedback.

Trainee reps have been signed up, taking part in a researcher-led training day, which gave them, and the commission, the opportunity for trainee-led focus groups to take place. We have heard great feedback from these, all appreciating the forum to not only discuss the commission’s recent trainee survey but mainly, to enable collaboration and discussion with peers across courses. We have also been contacting our winners from the Trainee Survey prize draw! We thank all trainees again for taking part in submitting their surveys, your experience offers a valuable perspective to this commission.

In Project C, attention has been drawn to the career framework of the professions, with a working group being set up to thoughtfully consider all aspects of this endeavour. Consultants across the professions have been engaged with to bring further value to the project.

As part of Project A, BAAT held a ‘Cultivating creativity!’ competition for members to submit proposals for an online, self-directed resource, which could be used to support a) children and b) young people/adults, to go on their own creative adventures. Submissions are currently being read!