News

Fringe artists: we are looking for an artist to work with an ASN school in Edinburgh!

In the interests of making this project as accessible as possible, the following information is presented in several formats, including large-print download, captioned audio-video and BSL video.

The Fringe Society is looking for a Scotland-based artist to deliver a 16-week, co-creative project with an Edinburgh ASN (Additional Support Needs) school between February and May 2024, as part of our Fringe in Schools project.

Find out more about the project, the school and how to apply below.

• Read this page as a large-text Word doc

About Fringe in Schools

To enable more people to engage with the festival and encourage the next generation of Fringe performers and audiences, we are offering Fringe artists the opportunity to run a creative project with local children and young people from an Edinburgh ASN school.

This is a great opportunity to engage with wider demographics, develop your practice and engage meaningfully with a local community in Edinburgh.

About the role

This role is open to artists and facilitators who wish to develop experience working with children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. A basic level of experience in ASN settings is required, but you will be supported by an experienced mentor to learn more about working in these environments.

What will be expected of you:

• You will attend a launch session with mentor.
• You'll meet with a member of staff from the school to get a sense of the needs and levels of their children or young people, and plan your session delivery based on these needs.
• Your initial first session at school (either for a full or a half-day) will be about connecting with the group and getting to know everything that's involved in their school environment. No planning or facilitating will be involved for this session – it's more about emphasising the importance of being present in the moment and being part of the pupil group, and getting to know the children, young people and staff.
• You will prepare and deliver 16 sessions (between 60 and 90 minutes per session) per week for 16 weeks between February and May 2024; this will need to be agreed with the school to ensure it suits their needs and schedule as well as your own.
• You will be supported by an assistant in each session as well as staff from the school who know the students well.
• We'll be in touch with you to discuss any access requirements you might have; we’re aiming to make this process as flexible as possible to ensure you can deliver your project in the way that works best for everyone involved.
• You'll deliver any sessions with the school in person.
• You'll be working with eight students aged 15-18.
• The end of your project should culminate in a final performance at the school, to an invited audience (to be determined by you and the school community, including pupils and staff). The details of how the young people will participate in this performance should be decided between you, the pupils and school staff during planning.
• We’re aiming for this to be as co-creative and collaborative as possible, so the content, themes and ideas used in your creative process should stem from those of the young people. These should arise within a structured format that will be developed after and throughout meeting the pupils involved and staff feedback.
• You will attend four one-to-one support sessions with the mentor (a combination of online sessions and in person)
• You will attend a reflection and feedback session with the school and your mentor online and contribute to the project evaluation and documentation.

Person specification

• Have a basic level of experience working in ASN settings or working with children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
• Live within travelling distance to Edinburgh (we can cover travel expenses from outside Edinburgh, to be agreed in advance with Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society).
• Have experience/interest in performing arts for young audiences and working with children as artist collaborators.
• Be willing to learn, take on feedback and receive support from an experienced mentor.
• Be flexible, compassionate and thoughtful in planning and delivery when it comes to the access and sensory needs of the group.
• Be willing and able to work with the scheduling and needs of the school, teachers and support staff.
• Be willing and able to strike a balance between flexibility in co-creative work with young people and a structured, scaffolded approach to delivery.
• Possess an up-to-date PVG background check or be willing to apply for one (the Fringe Society can cover costs of this).
• Have previously been an artist or participant of a Fringe show in some capacity.

About the school

We are working with Oaklands School on this project – here's some information they've provided:

"Situated in the north-west of Edinburgh, Oaklands School provides a significantly adapted and supportive learning environment for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities and often associated healthcare needs, aged 3 to 18 years old. At Oaklands we benefit from on-site multi-disciplinary therapy and medical teams in addition to our education staff. This helps our learners achieve their full potential.

"Our students have a range of complex disabilities. Many, but not all, of our students use wheelchairs and the majority are non-verbal. Oaklands School provides a significantly adapted and supportive learning environment for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities and often associated healthcare needs, aged 3 to 18 years old."

Key information

This project will include:

• one session per week for 16 weeks between February and May 2024. Please bear in mind that these sessions will need to take place during school hours; exact times and dates will be decided between artist and school.
• a launch session and reflection session with the project mentor.
• four additional one-to-one support sessions with the project mentor.

Fee:

• Total fee of £3,520 (inclusive of all delivery, planning and expenses).
• Additional support is available for access requirements.
• You will be provided with a separate budget for production costs for the final performance (exact amount TBC).

Note: While we are looking for one artist, we will also be recruiting later in the process for project assistants. If you are a part of a company and you have someone who might suit this role, please let us know in your application.

Application process and key dates

Application deadline: Monday 11 December 2023 at 09:00 GMT.

After the application deadline, we will consult with Oaklands School to make a decision on the selected artist based on what works best for their learners.

We will let all applicants know the outcome by Monday 08 January 2024. All applicants will be asked if they would like written feedback.

The dates of the project delivery will be agreed with the selected artist, mentor and school. The project will be delivered between February and May 2024 with the final performance in May or June 2024.

Additional budget is available if you have any access requirements for the application process, meetings and / or for the project itself, including providing BSL translators. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to set that up.

If you would like to apply in writing, please send us a covering letter (one or two pages of A4).

If you would like to apply by film or voice recording, send us a link to your recording via email (no more than three minutes). If you use BSL, you can record your film in BSL.

All applications

Please include the following information in all applications:

1. Artist name.
2. A bit about yourself.
3. Why you are interested in the role.
4. Number of Fringes you have creatively participated in total.
5. Name and year of your most recent Fringe show.
6. Your relevant experience and / or your artistic practice.
7. Main contact name.
8. Main contact phone number.
9. Main contact email address.
10. Where you are based in Scotland.

Please email the link to [email protected] with Fringe in Schools Artist Application as the email subject.

Please do not send us any CVs or any other additional documents.

Application deadline: Monday 11 December at 09:00 GMT.

We are particularly interested in hearing from artists who identify as under-represented in the arts, or are neurodivergent, D/deaf or disabled.

We are open to having conversations with the selected artists about their access requirements to participate in all aspects of the project.

You can contact the team on [email protected] or 0131 226 0033 with any questions about this opportunity or to talk through any access requirements.

Thumbnail photo credit: Matt Von Trapp (2019). Photographer: David Monteith-Hodge.