Showcasing the Award-Winning SENsory Atelier Programme

Wednesday 8 May 2024, Attenborough Arts Centre

Attenborough Arts Centre today announces a national Symposium to share the achievements of its award-winning SENsory Atelier programme, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

SENsory Atelier works with disabled children and young people with special educational needs (SEND) to pioneer new ways of learning and communicating through art. The pedagogy of SENsory Atelier puts arts, creativity and culture at the heart of SEND education and gives space for children in SEN schools to lead their learning journeys, express themselves and access the world. This innovative model has won the HEIST Gold Award for Best Widening Participation Initiative 2023 and the international Falling Walls Science Engagement Award 2023.

This Symposium will launch Attenborough Arts Centre’s SENsory Atelier Code of Practice, a guide to how creativity can transform SEND education nationally and internationally. It will bring together educators, artists and policymakers to shape the future of inclusive arts education, addressing key topics such as:

• What is the role of arts in education?
• What is the nature of learning in SEND education, and how do we know it is taking place?
• What can mainstream education learn from arts in SEND education approaches?

Attendees will learn how SENsory Atelier provides an innovative model for the future of SEND education in SEN schools and hear from internationally acclaimed experts in the field of arts and creativity in SEND education. The Symposium will feature practical workshops and explorations of creative activity with SENsory Atelier participants, teachers and artists and there will be interactive roundtable sessions to help answer the future needs of SEND education nationally and internationally.

 “It is vital that we continue to champion the strengths of SEND education and the role the arts can play in helping young people to become architects of their own learning. We’re hugely excited to share our learning and to collaborate with our speakers and delegates in forging new milestones for the future of education.” – Bob Christer, SENsory Atelier Programme Manager

The Symposium will take place on Wednesday 8 May 2024 9am to 5pm, Attenborough Arts Centre, University of Leicester. For tickets, please visit our webpage by clicking here.