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New Youth Theatre Accreditation Schemes

Both the National Council for Drama Training (NCDT) and the National Association of Youth Theatres (NAYT) have proposed new quality assurance schemes for the youth theatre sector.

NCDT’s Accreditation Scheme

The NCDT has announced a UK-wide scheme to monitor youth theatre provision for safe practice. The programme will take three years to implement and will be open to projects of all scales, from local Saturday classes to larger enterprises such as the Lyric Hammersmith.

NCDT director Hilary Strong states: “Institutions like ACE [Arts Council England], local authorities and different umbrella groups find it difficult, if not impossible, to recommend participation for young people, because hardly any of it is quality assured. The arts council don’t keep a list of activities or know if the teachers are Criminal Records Bureau checked, if there is insurance in place or if the person running it might be dodgy. It would be an impossible task for them to find out.” [quote from THE STAGE]

The scheme will highlight organisations which demonstrate good practice or hold other forms of accreditation such as ACE’s Artsmark award, but will not assess artistic quality.  Participants will pay a small fee to be accredited and listed on the NCDT’s website, and will be visited every two years by the organisation’s officers.

NAYT’s Excellence and Inclusion Scheme

Shortly after NCDT’s plans became public, Promote YT (Scotland)’s English counterpart, the NAYT, proposed their own Excellence and Inclusion Scheme which is to launch next year. 

Following an in-depth consultation with the youth theatre sector, the NAYT have opted for a self assessment process which can be implemented at a youth theatres own pace. Their aim is to increase their level of engagement with individual youth theatres, and emphasise that they will not be judging their work, but supporting them in delivering quality services to young people.

Sid Higgins, executive director NAYT, comments on the NCDT’s scheme: “It would seem wasteful that there are two parallel systems running, when there is already one that is effective and is going to get stronger. It is a very good intent, but my question would be - how is it going to be managed? Do the NCDT have the capacity to do this?” [quote from THE STAGE]

Promote YT (Scotland)’s response

It has been Promote YT’s aspiration for some time to administer a scheme which monitors, evaluates and celebrates best practice both operationally and creatively. Developments south of the border are at a more advanced stage but, with our new found confidence through achieving fixed term funding over the next two years, we now feel it is time to address this issue in Scotland.

We have been in constant dialogue with the NAYT and have followed the development of their Excellence and Inclusion Scheme with much interest.  The issue now is to decide what type of system would work best for the youth theatre sector in Scotland? An endorsement of one or both of the schemes above, or do we need to explore a method that better suits our specific needs?

Promote YT would be exceptionally keen to hear the view of Scotland’s YT’s and practitioners to ensure that any potential developments are in tune with needs of the sector.  If you have any comments or queries about this issue please contact Promote YT on 0131 313 6810 or info@promoteyt.co.uk  

Further information:

“Youth theatres to be spot-checked for safety” by Lalayn Baluch, on THE STAGE website [ article ]

National Council of Drama Training [ website ]

National Association of Youth Theatres [ website ]

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