Everything you need to know about Brilliant Makers Clubs

• What are Brilliant Makers Clubs?

  AccessArt is very excited to launch Brilliant Makers Clubs!

  For many years AccessArt has been working hard to highlight the importance of hands-on, creative activities for all, and through our co-created resources we have shown we really can help raise standards in art education.

  We hope that by taking positive steps to develop a network of Brilliant Makers Clubs, we will join together individuals, schools and organisations who recognise the importance of making as a vital part of a child’s education and life long learning.

  Our motto is “Making is important. Knowing how to use tools, and materials, is key to unlocking the imagination and has potential to transform the world.”

  Scroll down to find out everything you need to know, including how to Register a Club and how AccessArt will support you!

  Don’t forget to sign our Pledge to Brilliant Makers!

  

• Who are Brilliant Makers Clubs for?

  We are currently campaigning for more making opportunities for school aged children from early years until the end of key stage three.

  We believe that making should be integrated into school learning, on a regular basis, for all children, to support and enhance learning, exploration and discovery across all key areas, subjects and curriculums.

  Making opportunities can be further developed in the form of after-school clubs and lunch time making clubs, as well as clubs in the community and museums, libraries, galleries, studios and colleges.

  

• Could you host a Brilliant Makers Club?

  We invite all schools to host a Brilliant Makers Club, to provide vital learning opportunities for pupils who are keen makers or who learn through doing.

  This might be run in school time, or after school as a club, and might be led by an interested teacher or visiting artist educator or parent.

  Museums, galleries, libraries, artist studios and community centres are also encouraged to set up a Brilliant Makers Club.

  For help and advice email [email protected]

• Could you lead a Brilliant Makers Club?

  If you are an artist, teacher, engineer or parent and see the educational, and/or the mental health benefits, to children and young people of making, then you might want to consider setting up a Brilliant Makers Club.

  If you have the skills to guide children to learn how to use tools and explore materials and processes, then we encourage you to approach your local school, museum, gallery, library or community centre and tell them about Brilliant Makers Clubs.

  All you need to set up a Brilliant Makers Club is to be a responsible and good citizen with a caring attitude towards children and a love for making. 

• What kind of activities might take place in a Brilliant Makers Club?

  We want to encourage hands-on, creative, open-ended learning. It’s up to you how you interpret that, but we hope to encourage more opportunities for children to explore making, including; sculpture, materials, 3D processes, D&T and design through making.

  Making can and should be an integrated vehicle for learning across all subject and topic areas and curriculums.

  Members of AccessArt will be able to benefit from over 850 resources to inspire creativity as well as especially selected AccessArt Resources to Support Brilliant Making.

• How are Brilliant Makers Clubs funded?

  During this time of continued austerity and cuts to the arts, we recognise that we have to look creatively how making opportunities can be funded and learning opportunities not lost due to closed purse strings.

  So how is money raised to pay for an artist or parent to run a Brilliant Makers Club and overheads, such as materials and insurance get covered?

  We believe that artists, like all professionals, should be paid for their services to schools and the community.

  Some schools in our network have ring-fenced pupil premium funding for Brilliant Makers Workshops. The workshops have been of huge benefit for targeted children, who benefited from learning new skills and a higher pupil:teacher ratio.

  We know of schools who’s PTA have fundraised for a Brilliant Makers Club in their school. 

  Some schools will support paid after-school clubs to cover workshop costs, including artist fees and materials.

  AccessArt has no funding to support Brilliant Makers Clubs and our campaign to make making happen in schools.

  Please consider becoming an AccessArt Member (monthly £3.50 or annual £42), to help support our work promoting Brilliant Makers Clubs in schools and creating resources to support you.

• How will AccessArt support your Brilliant Makers Club?

  All Brilliant Makers Clubs, registered with AccessArt will appear on the See the Brilliant Makers Clubs page.

  By signing up to Brilliant Makers, you will now receive AccessArt’s monthly newsletter, which we hope will help inspire your club’s activity with latest resources and creative challenges for you to join in with.

  We will provide all clubs with a digital badge to be displayed on any promotional material (digital or physical) relating to your clubs.

  Members of AccessArt will be able to benefit from over 850 resources to inspire creativity as well as especially selected AccessArt Resources to Support Brilliant Making.

• Is there a fee to start a Brilliant Makers Club?

  No, there is no fee payable to AccessArt to register a club.

  If you are not already, you might want to consider becoming an AccessArt Member (monthly £3.50 or annual £42), with membership benefits including access to over 750 inspirational resources.

• What responsibilities are attached to running a Brilliant Makers Club?

  As part of the registration process we expect you to run clubs in a professional, fair manner.

  You must be DBS checked, and agree to host clubs which do not discriminate.

  We expect participants to be kept safe at all times and you must hold appropriate insurance.

  We provide guidance on these matters (see links below).

  Please read the Brilliant Makers Clubs Summary Guidelines here.

  AccessArt does not underwrite the Brilliant Makers Clubs in any way.

• Brilliant Makers Club Summary Guidelines

  By registering a Brilliant Makers Club, you agree:

  • Participants are kept safe.
  • Workshops are appropriately insured.
  • Ensure workshop leaders are DBS checked.
  • To run the clubs in a fair and professional manner, with no tolerance for discrimination.
  • To reflect and acknowledge the AccessArt philosophy of creative, open-ended, non-didactic learning.
  • To provide appropriate creative learning opportunities for your chosen target audience.
  • To include the words “Brilliant Makers” in the title of your club. For example, The Brilliant Makers Club at Sefton School, ArtyWorks Brilliant Makers Club, or The Saturday Art School, part of the Brilliant Makers Network.
  • To display the Brilliant Makers Club badge which we will supply on any promotional material (printed or digital) or information relating to the clubs.
  • When appropriate, to use #BrilliantMakers on any social media.

  You understand that:

  • AccessArt cannot financially support the clubs.
  • AccessArt does not underwrite the clubs in anyway, nor is AccessArt responsible for club activities or delivery.
  • AccessArt cannot recompense any clubs/individuals in the event of cancellations.
  • Your club can run in any location or venue, at any time, with any audience (closed or open).
  • Your club can be in any part of the world.
  • You can make a charge to participants or clubs can be free to attend.
  • You have the choice to share content of clubs via photographs and text, if you choose to, on the AccessArt website, if you have permission of those concerned.

  AccessArt can help create good practice in clubs via:

  • Email advice,
  • Guidelines published on AccessArt.org.uk.
  • AccessArt will aim to inspire activity in the clubs:
    Through the 750+ resources on the Accessart site.
  • Via the AccessArt newsletter.

  AccessArt can help market your club:
  Via the See The Brilliant Makers Clubs page.

  Brilliant Makers Club Summary Guidelines.

• Apply to run a Brilliant Makers Club or register your existing club

  Now that you know all about Brilliant Makers Clubs, follow this link to register your club and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can with next steps.

  Apply to Run a Brilliant Makers Club

• Make a pledge to Brilliant Makers!

  Do you believe in the power of making?

  AccessArt does!

  We believe that making and developing the ability to work, and think with one’s hands, is a crucial skill and should be nurtured from cradle to grave.

  If you are a teacher, artist educator or head teacher – please take the Brilliant Makers’ pledge and say:

  ‘I believe in the power of making!’*

  *By using the Brilliant Makers Digital Badge, you are making a pledge that you:

  *believe in making,

  *agree that learning to use tools is a vital part of a child’s education,

  *believe in thinking through doing and learning through exploring materials.

  Make a Pledge to Brilliant Makers