A ‘narrative’ evaluation giving an impressionistic account of 12 visits made to arts projects in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Learning Support Units (LSUs) around the country, trying to capture the actuality of the experiences that each centre was going through.

In 2001 the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in collaboration with Arts Council England, established the First Time Projects scheme. The purpose of the scheme was to offer small grants to teachers in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Learning Support Units (LSUs) to enable them to initiate artists’ residencies, based on the belief that practising artists often have much to offer pupils in these settings: they can introduce them sympathetically and authoritatively to new and creative skills, thus building up their confidence and self-belief; and they can gradually develop relationships with the pupils, helping them to improve their own ability to relate to others.The scheme ran for three years.

Richard ings: "My brief has not been to attempt a full- scale evaluation of these projects. The aim is more modest: simply to provide an informed snapshot of this kind of work as it takes place, to capture it in mid-flow and bring into focus the teachers and support staff, the artists and the students as they engage with an activity whose outcome is yet to emerge. Although only full- scale tracking and longitudinal research will uncover just how lasting an impact such projects might have on the young people and the adult facilitators involved, I would argue that we can learn something of the value of arts interventions in PRUs and LSUs from shorter encounters."