Education Projects
Below you can read about a number of Clean Break education projects past and present.
Clean Break’s Peer Support Project, 2007/08
enabled
past students to give something back to Clean Break and to other women studying
here. Drawing on the body of research which evidences that women welcome and
benefit positively from support offered from peers, the project matched an
ex-student with a current student from their initial contact with Clean Break
through their first six months of studying here. All peer supporters received
training in their role from Women in Prison. Support offered included attending
meetings with women, listening to their needs, offering encouragement and
helping women achieving their goals.
Give Me My Robe, Put On My Crown is a new moving image work
by disabled artist Nicola Lane. Her film celebrates the talents
and creativity of women students on Clean Break's Access to Theatre in the
Community course from 2005 to 2006. The title comes from one woman's performance
of her drama school audition speech from Shakespeare's 'Anthony and
Cleopatra': Give me my robe, put on my crown: I have immortal longings
in me… which inspires the work. Using digital video, Nicola filmed each woman
in head and shoulders close-up, performing her own chosen piece straight to
camera. Working with the creative team, the women chose the look they felt
most expressed their character. The women's individual performances are shown
side by side, in split screen, presenting the women both as individuals and
as a group. Juxtaposed with these images is documentary footage of both their
preparations and the aftermath of filming. In this section the women took
control of the filming process and speak with candour and insight of their
personal journey towards achievement. The film was screened in March 2007
at Hampstead Theatre as part of Camden's Disability Arts Festival.
See Give Me My Robe Put On My Crown, a film by artist Nicola
Lane and Clean Break students at www.itvlocal.com
First Stage (2006-2007)
First Stage is the only practical traineeship for Black and Asian women in
stage management, sound and lighting and all technical areas of theatre. During
two weeks in April twelve women undertook an intensive course here in Kentish
Town, learning the basics in backstage work. Five women went on to traineeships
of between three months and a year. These are a series of supported placements
at a range of fantastic London venues, currently including The Royal Court,
The Young Vic and National Youth Theatre and, in future, Theatre Royal Stratford
East and the Tricycle. The trainees are supported by a personal mentor and
a Learning Adviser. The aim is for the women trainees to gain the necessary
skills to seek employment in their chosen area, along with increased confidence,
general skills and, possibly, a qualification.
Women and Anger (1998–present)
The Women and Anger Programme was developed by Clean Break to enable women
to better communicate their anger, so as to reduce the likelihood of harm
to themselves or others in their community. Four pilot programmes were run
between 2002 and 2004 in custodial and community settings and evaluated externally
by REClaim North West: Research and Evaluation for Social Justice. Findings
indicated that of the 35 women that commenced the programme, 71% completed.
Feedback from participants illustrated the positive experiences gained by
women with overall improvements in communication styles and stages of change.
We are currently inviting approaches from drug, alcohol and housing agencies
to host the Women and Anger programme and Self- Development Programme for
their female service users.
Self Development Programme
(2001-present)
Clean Break’s Women’s Self Development Programme is a 25-hour
creative group work programme plus one-to-one coaching, which aims to facilitate
women offenders’ better understanding of their past and present. The
programme is delivered in a women-only setting by highly skilled facilitators
and uses a range of arts based and therapeutic tools to enable women to move
forward in their lives with increased confidence, choices, skills, support
and direction.
Refuge (2002)
This was a partnership project between Clean Break, King Alfred’s College
and HMP Winchester (West Hill Wing). Collaboratively, we mounted a full-scale
production of a new play, written by Dawn Garrigan and performed by prisoners
and students for a sell-out week of public performances to over 1000 people.
The play raised themes of punishment, rehabilitation and reform and looked
at the treatment of women in both the nineteenth century and the present day.
Ambitious Dreams (2000)
We piloted one of the first drama initiatives to meeting literacy objectives
in a women’s prison (HMP Send). 94% of women participating in our performance
project gained their literacy qualification at Level 2.
Breaking In (1999-2001)
This project ran over two years and offered NVQ (Level 3) traineeships to
women ex-offenders to develop skills as drama workshop leaders in the community.
Out of the eleven women who completed, there are now significant success stories
of these women’s career development both within the world of the arts
and as a stepping stone to different careers.
