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Leading Edge

DIY Leaders are people who use their lived experience of learning disability to shape and co-lead creative projects that directly benefit other people with learning disabilities.

Leading Edge is our ambitious Employability and Community Engagement programme, for leaders with lived experience of learning disability. It began in September 2022 and will be funded for three years by the National Lottery Community Fund.

The Leading Edge programme enables DIY Leaders to develop their employability skills and access volunteering and supported employment opportunities in lots of different settings. For example:

• Running drama workshops with children and young people with learning disabilities in local schools
• Working with adults with learning disabilities to develop creative community projects
• Training professionals like teachers, arts practitioners, doctors and other health professionals to make their practice more inclusive and accessible.

Occupational Therapy students explore areas of positive and inclusive communication with DIY Gamechangers

Our Leading Edge Projects in 2024 included:

Training for Drama Students – University of Salford

In March 2024, a group of DIY leaders and performers co-led a Sensory Theatre Training session for 11 drama students at University of Salford as part of their Theatre and Communities Module.

I really enjoyed how interactive the whole session was and getting to work with new people. I learnt how to create an interactive and interesting piece of theatre –  Drama Student, University of Salford

During a three-hour session, they introduced the students to the principles of DIY’s multi-sensory and immersive theatre-making. After experiencing DIY’s Hanging by a Thread, students were invited to work with DIY leaders to create and share their own ideas for creating multi-sensory environments.

Training for Medical Students at University of Manchester

DIY Gamechangers introduced Medical Students at the University of Manchester to the Social Model of Health and the Five Ways to Wellbeing. These sessions are fun, but they are also really important as they offer a unique opportunity for DIY members to share their lived experience of learning disability with the medical professionals of the future.

The space DIY creates is extremely special and completely unique. Nothing I’ve ever experienced before but something everyone should experience to create a less divided society.” – Medical Student, University of Manchester

Thanks to everyone at DIY for welcoming us in, this has been one of my favourite experiences during medical school…The people have all been fantastic and had a huge impact on me. Keep on being the amazing, inspiring people you are!” – Medical Student, University of Manchester

Training for OT students at University of Salford

On 5th and 12th February 2024, DIY Gamechangers co-led two full-day sessions involving over 30 Occupational Therapy students, University of Salford as part of the students’ ‘Communication’ module.

I learnt the difference between the social model and medical model of disability, and how important it is to know someone we are working with as a whole person” – OT student, University of Salford

Chatsworth Futures College

Throughout the year, DIY Leader Chloe co-led weekly workshops with two groups of post 19 learners Sessions have explored a range of themes including all about me, health and wellbeing. Learner progress was tracked/evidenced against individual learner targets.

Staff have been really impressed by Chloe’s increasing confidence and leadership skills through working on the project.

I would give me a 10 out of 10. I think I was amazing” – Chloe, DIY Leader

Aspire St George’s

DIY Leaders Ange & Amy have co-led weekly drama sessions with adults with learning disabilities at Aspire St George’s throughout the year.

DIY’s Creative Arts Programme is funded through Salford Community Learning and supports learners with learning disabilities to develop their Creative Arts Skills alongside developing a range of essential transferrable skills and attributes that increase employability including communication, group-work, presentation skills, self-awareness and reflective skills. Courses are designed to be accessible to all and to encourage creativity, raise aspirations, improve confidence and self-belief, enable self-expression in all its forms and promote social engagement and well-being.

Blue Room at The Bluecoat

DIY Leaders Angela, Amy and Charlotte we ran an online training session for The Blue Room, a group of artists with learning disabilities based in Liverpool. They had seen DIY’s protest exhibit in the Peoples’ History Museum and wanted to find out more about us. The session shared information about DIY’s Gamechangers and Lived Experience Leadership work, including DIY’s member-led Board and the Transforming Leadership programme.

Our Leading Edge Projects in 2023 included:

Working with post 16 students at Piper Hill High School

DIY Leaders Charlotte and Adam worked with 11 students supporting them to achieve their Bronze Arts Awards. Students learnt new games and how to make puppets in the form of birds. They also learned how to use percussion instruments to animate short scenes with their puppets.

It has been really good working with this group. They are lovely and I am getting lots of experience to put on my CV. They really liked watching ‘Circus Tricks’ and I think the tiger was their favourite character.” – Adam

‘Preparation for Adult Life’ at Manchester Hospital School

DIY worked with two groups of young people at Manchester Hospital Schools. Cathy and Anna, DIY Actors and Gamechangers, were part of the team that worked with students at Leo Kelly.

Pupils at Leo Kelly & Galaxy House were then invited to create their own planets in whatever way they chose – using making, drama, music and creative writing. Pupils at

Leo Kelly introduced their planets to Anna & Cathy. During the final two weeks of the project, students in both settings worked with film maker Hilary Easter Jones to create a film about the project.

It is important we give our young people experiences that they would not get in their personal life which include celebrating diversity and tolerance.” – Ruth Sheard-Pearson, Assistant Headteacher, Manchester Hospital School

Introducing Drama to adults at Aspire, St George’s Community Hub

DIY Leaders Angela and Amy were part of a team that worked at Aspire with a group of ten adults with Learning Disabilities. Across a 10-week Introduction to Drama course, learners found out about basic drama techniques, played lots of fun drama games and developed their imaginations.

Sensory Practice Training for Chetham’s School of Music

DIY Leaders Cathy and Angela co-led a sensory theatre and music workshop with 60 students at Chetham’s in the Autumn of ‘23. The workshop covered sensory practice and the ways DIY use music within multi-sensory theatre.

You introduced the work in a sympathetic and clear way. Showed the range of work and explained the needs of participants. In the short time we had the session was very full and interactive!… Students understanding that disability is not a barrier to enjoying or delivering music and engagement projects in very important to us” – Vicki Chiaputa, Creative Engagement Manager, Chetham’s School of Music

Communication Training for the University of Salford

A group of DIY Gamechanger Leaders Mike, Scott, Adam, Charlotte and Amy led four sessions, for Occupational Therapy Students in February 2023. This formed part of the ‘Communication’ module at University of Salford.

I think the sessions were great and really useful in helping the students think about barriers to communication and feel what it is like to be led in an activity that is challenging and hopefully inspiring.” – Rowan Morris, Teaching and Learning Intern, Subject of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Society, University of Salford

Accessible Communication Workshop for Cartwheel Arts

DIY Leader Cathy co-led training in Communication for Cartwheel Arts in Rochdale. Building on our positive relationship with Cartwheel Arts DIY ran a workshop for 10 staff members and volunteers at Cartwheel Arts in Accessible Communication.

The session was really engaging – it was great to move away from screens and to physically get involved in exploring an idea.… It’s really important for our staff and volunteers to see diverse leadership, and to understand the strengths that adults with learning disabilities have.” – Hebe Reilly, Director, Cartwheel Arts

Transforming Leadership

As part of Transforming Leadership I am on a placement with Emma. I have been to lots of different meetings. I am also working on the Lowry’s policies to make them Easy Read.” – Amy, DIY Leader

Transforming Leadership was a national initiative to develop learning disabled and autistic cultural leadership. The aims were:

• Sharing skills andbest practise in co-directing and inclusive governance amongst all partners
• Creating training and  pathways for learning disabled and autistic leaders in co-directing and governance
• Developing relationships with local arts venues  to foster genuine inclusion and representation of learning disabled and autistic leaders.

The initiative was led by a network of eight Learning Disability Arts organisations: Access All Areas, Mind-the-Gap, DIY Theatre, Blue Apple Theatre, Unanima, Square Pegs, Prism Arts and Hubbub.

Two DIY leaders took part in this funded training opportunity. Charlotte followed a co-directing route and Amy followed a governance route. Both attending regular Transforming Leadership training sessions. During September 2023, both travelled to attend residential training courses tailored to their specialism.

Have a read of our news item which highlights their trips.

Amy with others attending the Transforming Leadership training residency in September 2023

During 2024, both Amy and Charlotte undertook placements at The Lowry.

Amy completed a 12 week placement at The Lowry, DIY’s cultural partner for the Transforming Leadership programme. Amy worked with Emma, The Lowry’s EDI Manager, helping her to develop more accessible policies and documents for The Lowry.

“I’ve enjoyed finding ways to make the meetings easier and talking to Emma about this. I really enjoyed last week when Emma asked me to speak up in the Steering Group.” – Amy, DIY Leader

“I’ve learnt so much about the process, about how it works. I’ve also learnt about you and how you operate and the ways in which we can work together on big projects to create a really exciting final piece for us.” – Emma Underwood, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager, The Lowry

Charlotte completed a 12 week placement with YES Drama at The Lowry. She was responsible for directing the opening section of a drama piece with 10 young people with learning disabilities. At the end of the project Charlotte made a presentation to the Lowry’s Education team about her placement.

“I learnt how to talk to the group in a calm way and in smaller sentences. I got to feed my ideas in into what they already had. And they got to learn skills as well off me.” – Charlotte, DIY Leader

“If you do something like this and it’s successful it’s great and it’s a positive experience, it also sends a signal to other departments in the organisation and they’re like, they’ve done it and then maybe they can either get some hints and tips how to run it again or how’s it going to be successful. Or it just inspires them to think actually yeah, we should be doing that as well.” – Fraser Thomas, Youth Employability and Skills Manager, The Lowry

Thank you to Arts Council England for supporting the Transforming Leadership Initiative, and to The National Lottery Community Fund for supporting our Leading Edge Programme.