A Social Model Approach to Buddying

A few first thoughts about Inclusion and Buddying  .

 ‘Buddying’ is quite high on the list of things I’m currently thinking about.

 The approach to buddying that I described in the Jam Buddies bid was based on young people with and without ' disability' labels accessing shared instrument lessons and then working together support each other’s learning and contributing what they’d learnt to a Jam and the creation of songs.  It’s an approach I’ve used often, working as a music facilitator with adults with ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels. It’s not simple and I think that’s really good because if it was we could do it without thinking.

The Turning Tides Project takes a Social Model Approach – we never ask people what their ‘labels’ are. The only information we request is the minimum we need to ensure people are safely supporting and are given the best kind of support we can provide…… so buddying people with labels with people without them was never going to happen and that’s fine but in an inclusive group (and that’s very much what we wanted to create) how do you evaluate the impact on people with different needs? How do we make sure that the evidence we collect gives us information about the journeys and successes of ‘disabled’ young people and ‘not disabled’ young people in a way that enables us to identify and address the inequities without first identifying the labels?

We’ve had a really good take up of the places for Jam Buddies and that’s been largely down to our existing networks. We had good links with the Learning Support Service at the local Secondary School and also with a Local Support and Social Group for parent’s young people with additional needs.  Our sessions are held in the skittle alley at the back of a pub (which the young people really like): it’s very close to the school. We’re a very rural community – so it made a lot of sense to have the sessions straight after school and reduce the transport issues. The down side of this though is that the young people who travel out of the area to ‘special schools’ aren’t back in time . These are the young people who arguably, get least opportunity to be a part of their community. So we’ve adapted our approach ad are running two sessions consecutive sessions. This means that the young people don’t mix as much as we’d hoped but we will be running whole day school holiday workshops which will address this, in part.

  Our aim is ‘to make equal access to music, the arts and life a reality for people with ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels in Devon’. Everything we create and facilitate is open and inclusive but our work is focused on promoting equal access for disabled people: it’s quite a challenge to encourage people who are ‘not disabled’ to become part of an inclusive group that’s purpose is to include. Luckily, Kelly, one of our Music Practitioners has good connections with other groups of young people who are developing their musical, performance and song writing skills. A few of them joined us last night for the first time. It was a really good session – I hope they’ll become regulars and will gain at least as much as they give.

The Jam Buddies first original song is well on its way – and is sounding really good.

The Jam Buddies Project Web Space is beginning to take shape. We’ll be using this and our Radio Show to collect Arts Awards Evidence. http://www.theturningtidesproject.org.uk/jam-buddies.html

We’ll let you know when we release the song.

Jane Williams, Director of The Turning Tides Project and lead facilitator for Jam Buddies.