UK Timeline 2016

A review of research on the value of singing for older people. A Choir in Every Care Home working paper 6

‘A Choir in Every Care Home’ is an initiative to explore how music and singing can feature regularly in care homes across the country. These working papers distil the sharings and emerging learnings of both the working group and the consortium, to provoke further debate and discussion.

Remember to dance. Evaluating the impact of dance activities for people in different stages of dementia

This report outlines the findings of a two-year research study on the impact on quality of life (QOL) and wellbeing.

The Birth Project:Using the Arts to Explore Birth

The aim of this study was to use the arts to interrogate birth discourses, to challenge embedded assumptions, and in this process, to stimulate mutual recovery between all those who experience and are affected by birth.

Part of the AHRC Consortium, Creative Practice as Mutual Recovery: Connecting Communities ...

Create: Dance – a cure for the sitting disease

As part of Arts Council England’s Create: perspectives on the value of art and culture,  Public Health commissioner and dance and health specialist Jan Burkhardt asks if the nation can dance its way back into shape.

Participatory Performing Arts: Summarising our Approach

A social return on investment evaluation of the St Helens Creative Alternatives arts on prescription programme

Funding Arts and Culture in a Time of Austerity

In this paper, the New Local Government Network, an independent civic development think tank, sets out recent trends in local government’s funding for arts and culture and the prospects for the near future. Using figures from Arts Council England, a public body dedicated to developing and funding artistic and cult...

Evaluation of the Cultural Commissioning Programme

This report evaluates the outcomes of phase one of the Cultural Commissioning Programme (CCP), a 3-year Arts Council England funded and National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) developed programme, which works with arts and cultural organisations across England to help them better engage in public sector ...

Artist’s Handbook: A Guide for Artists Working in the Hospital Environment

The Birth Project: Using the Arts to Explore Birth. Interim Report

The Birth Project uses the arts to explore the impact of birth, not only on new mothers but on obstestricians, midwives, doulas and birth-partners, in order to interrogate birth discourses, challenge embedded assumptions, and in this process, stimulate mutual recovery between all those who experience and are affecte...

STROKESTRA Stroke Rehabilitation through Creative Music-Making Pilot Programme Report

This report evaluates the mental health, physical health, and wellbeing benefits of the STROKESTRA pioneering stroke rehabilitation programme that were observed from qualitative and quantitative measures taken throughout the project, and discusses future opportunities for developing similar programs.

Arts for health and wellbeing: An evaluation framework

This document provides guidance on appropriate ways of documenting the impacts of arts for health and wellbeing, whether through small scale project evaluations or large scale research studies.

Arts and Dementia: Using Participatory Music Making to Improve Acute Dementia Care in Hospital Environments: Findings from Evaluation Research

Arts and health of the people: Resilient individuals and communities

This presentation from the Art of Health in Wales symposium outlines the achievements of arts and health in Wales and how it can proceed for the future.

The Alchemy Project evaluation report

An evaluation report on a pilot, four-week, intensive contemporary dance programme for young people with psychosis in South London.

Reaching out: The impact of music-making on individual and community development in Plymouth

The evaluation of two programmes run by Plymouth Music Zone including individuals experiencing challenging transitions and music and singing workshops in seven elderly residential settings.

Social prescribing at a glance, North West England: A scoping report of activity for the North West

This report is intended as an introductory online resource to encourage wider understanding and exploration of the benefits of social prescribing to promote wellbeing.

Report of the annual social prescribing network conference

This report sets out recommendations on the principles underpinning effective service provision and the steps needed to capture and measure the impact of social prescribing, both of which facilitate moving social prescribing from the local to the national agenda.

The art of commissioning: How commissioners can release the potential of the arts and cultural sector

This report brings together experiences and lessons from two pilot sites, sharing practical examples of how arts and cultural organisations can be engaged to improve the quality and value of public services, and how commissioners can overcome some of the common barriers they face.

A Preliminary Report from the National Alliance for Museums, Health and Wellbeing

This report describes the wealth of activity around health, wellbeing and social care that museums and galleries offer in the UK, and provides the context in which the National Alliance for Museums, Health and Wellbeing was established in 2015.

Understanding the value of arts & culture. The AHRC cultural value project

This report presents the outcomes of the AHRC’s Cultural Value Project which looked at how we think about the value of the arts and culture to individuals and to society.

A balancing act: Delivering unlimited, a case study in partnership working

Unlimited is the Arts Council’s flagship disability art programme. This case study takes a look at Unlimited II and explores the partnership behind the project and what makes it work, as we move into Unlimited III.

Music for a While

Music for a While’ was a partnership project led by Arts & Health South West (AHSW) working with the University of Winchester and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) to deliver music for people with dementia in three hospitals.

Developing Tier 2 skills for good dementia care

This evaluation looks at the effectiveness of the House of Memories train the trainer model that aims to better the effectiveness and wellbeing of both the carer and one being cared for.

What Literature Can Do

This report investigates the impact of the Shared Reading programme run by national charity The Reader, upon mental health and well being in four London boroughs.

Arts on Prescription North West Leicestershire: Evaluation Report

This report evaluates an Arts on Prescription pilot project, funded by North West Leicestershire District Council’s “Staying Healthy Partnership” grant, and planned and delivered by Beauty and Utility Arts and Little Bird SOS, both local arts for health social enterprises.

Cultural commissioning models: Arts and culture on prescription model

This social prescribing guide, put together by Consilium and Red Quadrant, gives a brief overview of the Arts and Culture on prescription model, as follows:
What is it; How does it work?; Who are the commissioners?; How is the service contract organised? How is the service evaluated? Building sustaining workin...

Evaluation in participatory arts programmes: A selection of approaches, models and methods developed across Creative People and Places 2013-2016

This report details a selection of approaches, models and methods of evaluation in participatory arts programmes. It brings together 18 examples of evaluation tools, methods and approaches, including creative evaluation, from across the Creative People and Places programme.

Transported evaluation report, A Small Library, Open Book

A report on a collaborative arts initiative ‘Open Book’, a partnership between Transported, a community-based programme focused on participatory arts activities, and the Lincolnshire library service. It contains a Social Return On Investment analysis of the project and its impact on stakeholders.

In Harmony Liverpool. Year 6 Evaluation: Interim Report

Originally inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, In Harmony Liverpool uses orchestral musicmaking to improve the health, education and aspirations of children and young people in Everton. This report evidences the progress made in little more than a year in developing a cohesive early years curriculum that follows t...

Music-making with hospitalised children: outcomes for children, families, hospital staff and musicians from LIME Medical Notes (2) and Songbirds projects

Following the first Medical Notes project, this second report details the research findings on the impact and outcomes from the subsequent phase of the project activity at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital which comprised two distinct strands of activity:
• Medical Notes (2) – music-making with childr...

Magical Journeys: The national Portrait Gallery’s Hospital Programme 2016 Evaluation Report

An evaluation focused on the impact and value for patients, families, hospital staff, artists and gallery staff from the National Portrait Gallery’s Partnership Project with children’s hospitals.

A new form of theatre – older people’s involvement in theatre and drama

This report maps the growing phenomenon of Older People’s theatre companies throughout the UK. It covers widening participation, breadth of practice, financial support, the benefits to both older people and artists, as well as the relationship between amateur and professional theatre. It then has brief summaries o...

Social prescribing for mental health: guidance paper

This guidance on the use of social prescribing for mental health has been developed by NHS Health Scotland and will be of particular interest to policy makers, planners and commissioners of services which aim to improve mental wellbeing and prevent and treat mental health problems and work to address mental health i...

Long Live Arts manifesto: feel the arts

The European initiative Long Live Arts published this Manifesto as a tool for change. It sets objectives for the creation of a broader framework for cultural participation by older people to stimulate a positive intergenerational perspective.

No so cut off

This publication draws on case studies from the joint Baring Foundation/Arts Council Northern Ireland(ACNI) funding programme and illustrates the benefits of participation in the arts for isolated older people.

West Yorkshire Playhouse Guide to Dementia Friendly Performances

West Yorkshire Playhouse has been leading the way in dementia-friendly performances. This is an in-depth guide to dementia friendly performances based on the unique experience of West Yorkshire Playhouse and aims to inspire more venues to take up this opportunity across the UK.

Evaluation of the Pilot House of Memories Train the Trainer programme. A Tier 2 Dementia Awareness Programme led by National Museums Liverpool and Commissioned by Health Education England working in the North West

The Pilot House of Memories Train the Trainer Programme, led by National Museums Liverpool and commissioned by Health Education England (HEE North West), was designed to meet Tier 2 objectives as defined by the national Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework.

Taking Part 2015/16 Annual Child Report

The child Taking Part survey asks about child participation in cultural and sporting activities, as well as well-being, and covers children aged 5-15 years – this release by the DCMS is the annual publication of child data and provides detailed analysis of the year from April 2015 to March 2016.

Hera Evaluation: Mid-Project Report

The Hera project (Healing and Expressive Recovery Arts) – was a UK first in offering a range of different art form activities from a GP/primary care setting, and as such offers creative activity for an extraordinarily broad range of local people, including those who have not tried arts activities since leaving...

In Harmony Liverpool. Impact on Early Years Education: Executive Summary

Originally inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, In Harmony Liverpool uses orchestral music making to improve the health, education and aspirations of children and young people in Everton. This report evidences the progress made in little more than a year in developing a cohesive early years curriculum that follows ...

Music, singing and wellbeing for adults living with dementia

This is the third of three reports that form the review of self-reported subjective wellbeing outcomes of music and singing for adults living with dementia and it consists of five intervention studies of participants with dementia as well as one qualitative study.

The review encompasses data from 249 particip...

Can Music Make You Sick? Music and Depression

This new research, commissioned by Help Musicians UK and conducted by a team from the University of Westminster, was to hear directly from professional musicians, aspiring musicians, and workers within the wider music industry, about how they feel about their working conditions, and how they perceive working in the ...

Realising the value: Ten key actions to put people and communities at the heart of health and wellbeing

This is the final report of the Realising the Value programme, an 18-month programme funded by NHS England and led by Nesta and the Health Foundation, set up to support the NHS Five Year Forward View vision to develop a new relationship with people and communities.