Personal Effectiveness and Employability through the Arts (PEETA)
 
This Leonardo Transfer of Innovation project is working across 6 European countries to test the use of an Edexcel qualification developed by Exeter University and Superact which uses the arts to develop employability and personal effectiveness skills. The qualification is being piloted in 5 different European prisons using different art forms and varying approaches to delivery. 

Throughout the project we will develop and deliver training packages for staff introducing the award into new settings, and will develop communities of practice capable of making robust and consistent judgements on the achievements and learning outcomes of beneficiaries across the partnership countries. We will map the Supporting Employability and Personal Effectiveness (SEPE) Level 1 Award to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF); record and analyse adaptations and the effectiveness of the award in new contexts; build relationships with awarding bodies, policy makers and ministries; and spread and mainstream the use of the Award within partners’ countries.

Our consortium has experience of delivering arts-based education in a range of settings; of working with prisons; developing qualifications and training packages and of developing offenders’ employability skills. We have research expertise; links with Ministries of Justice and other national strategists.
Tangible outcomes will be:

• a new EQF-mapped qualification introduced into partner countries

• an analysis of the effectiveness of the SEPE qualification at country and EU level

• training provided to artists working in secure environments

• a European network of artists and prison staff

• an external evaluation of the project

Less tangible outcomes will be our influence on policy makers, enhanced working practices in the prisons and by artists / trainers involved. Our impact will be on prison-education; achieved by driving changes locally via delivery, and nationally / internationally via mainstreaming activities, such as networking and influencing, articles and journals, workshops and conferences, on-line discussions and reporting.