• Strand 3 : The Community programme weekly dance sessions will provide diversionary activity for young people in 9 communities in Scotland . Cashback for Change will engage young people in fun , inspiring dance sessions to increase their confidence and self-belief and develop communication , teamworking and commitment ability . Holiday time qualification programmes will support 30 participants to attain Award in Dance Leadership and SQA Personal Achievement Awards . Local performances and celebration events will engage families and the wider community .
The last six months ( September 2020 to March 2021 ) of year one in Round 5 of the ‘ CashBack for Communities ’ fund was intended as a start-up phase for the ‘ CashBack for Change ’ project . Like all public provision it was severely impacted by the ongoing Government lockdown , which came in response to the Covid-19 pandemic . Implementation has been sporadic with many of the original plans on hold or having to adapt to the constantly changing restrictions and circumstances .
Staffing : YDance and Glass along with the beneficiary organisations in each strand were subject to staff being furloughed with fluctuations in the permitted numbers of young people that organisations could work with . This was in addition to Kelly Shearer ( YDance Head of Participation ) going on maternity leave from 29 th June 2020 . Emma Stewart-Jones was brought in on a temporary contract to cover the post from 3 rd August . The manager from Glass also went on maternity leave , although the Lead Officer role for the project was unaffected [ see appendix 1 ].
Despite the state of flux , YDance and Glass have found innovative ways to reach out to young people in the target group . Most notably , the two case studies attached . One was led by YDance in the Good Shepherd Centre that provides secure and supported living services for vulnerable young people 12 to 17 years of age . The other was led by GLASS in Polmont Young Offenders Institution – a national holding facility for young male offenders aged 16 to 21 .
A feature of the first year is experimentation , caused by a need to diverge from the original programme . The case studies reveal the unique ways that creative projects can adapt , without losing sight of the intended outcomes .
In strand 1 for example , the Glass project in Polmont used the in-house media service to broadcast a ‘ Juke Box ’ radio programme to young people that were more severely cut-off during the pandemic . The Juke Box opened the project to a much wider range of participants than expected . For dance an adaptation was to provide
virtual dance inputs that were broadcast on the TV screens of young people in their individual cells in Polmont HMYOI - 6 stylistic dance tutorial films , 5 filmed ‘ Fitness Challenges ’ and 3 filmed ‘ Rave Parties ’.
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