{"id":12965,"date":"2023-07-05T10:32:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T09:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=12965"},"modified":"2023-07-06T10:08:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T09:08:35","slug":"creating-opportunities-for-young-people-with-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/2023\/07\/05\/creating-opportunities-for-young-people-with-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the start of Collections in Action, our new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) programme 2023-2026, getting underway, we\u2019re taking the opportunity to talk to colleagues whose work aligns with one of the four main themes of the programme to find out what it means to them and their work. The four themes are Creating Opportunities, Social Justice, Health and Wellbeing and Our Planet.<\/span><\/h2>\n

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This time around, it’s Creating Opportunities: working with young people to raise aspiration and build skills and creative capacity. <\/span><\/h2>\n

We had a chat with Marie Kennedy, Learning Associate: Young People who works with colleagues across the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) consortium to create opportunities for\u00a0 young people who may not normally have access to museums.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Marie at a disability friendly opening at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the four themes of the NPO programmes is Creating Opportunities – working with young people to raise aspiration and build skills and creative capacity.<\/h3>\n

Why do you think this is so important?<\/h3>\n

I think it’s really important because not everyone feels comfortable and confident to go into museums, but everyone has the same right to access culture in whatever way works for them. I think it’s important that we help young people build skills and be creative because to me, that’s one of the reasons we’re here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Two young people exploring the sensory tent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why is it important in our region?<\/h3>\n

I think our region is a really interesting one because they’re semi-rural areas and it can make things difficult for young people to access culture and to be honest, sometimes just access public transport to\u00a0 just get out and about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I think there can be a lack of aspirations in some areas as well and maybe people don’t necessarily think about wanting to go to a museum, but from my experience, what I’ve found is there is normally a way in with most young people, and it’s just about creating those opportunities for people to to be able to access them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s what I love about my job, it’s really targeted so I get to really think and work with young people who might not normally think about going to a museum because of whatever barrier that might be.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What can we do with collections that makes our contribution to this area so special?<\/h3>\n

Ohh, I think one of the most amazing things about the UCM is what we have. Such a diverse range of objects, and I think what’s incredible for me when I’m working with young people, is that there is pretty much a way in with everyone, we can go for science, we can go for art, whatever their interests may be we can cater for.<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel we’ve got a duty to share these incredible collections we look after because they’re not ours, they belong to everybody and everybody should get the chance to explore and engage with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s lots of different ways in which people may think\u00a0 children with disabilities won\u2019t want to and can’t engage with museums. But they can. We have to be flexible and think about things differently. And I really enjoy that challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What groups of young people do you create opportunities for in your role?<\/h3>\n

Disability Friendly Openings<\/b><\/p>\n

A lot of my work at the moment is working with young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and I do that in a number of ways. There’s Disability Friendly Openings that make the museums accessible for SEND children and their families, because we\u00a0 always need to remember the families are sometimes quite isolated and affected as well, and so are siblings. So it’s a chance for families to come together and experience something in a way that works for the young person, but also for their families.<\/span><\/p>\n