CYPSC is enthusiastic about creating opportunities for children and young people of all ages and abilities to experience the Arts.
We are pleased to have supported the I AM BABA Spring Tour 2020 and are currently supporting the I AM BABA National Autumn Tour 2021 in collaboration with Anna Newell and The Civic, Tallaght.
"Its a magical journey - I AM BABA The Community Tour Evaluation" report was commissioned by the National CYPSC Office at Tusla Child and Family Agency. The aim of the evaluation report is to describe and detail the implementation of the CYPSC-supported elements of the I AM BABA theatre production for very young children Spring Tour 2020. The learning from this national implementation approach has informed our 2021 collaboration with the theatre company and will inform future CYPSC efforts to promote positive outcomes for very young children and their families through the Arts.
Recognising that access to quality, cultural and artistic experiences can have very positive impacts for children, young people and families our collaboration with Anna Newell and her colleagues to bring such a special theatre production to the very youngest of audiences around Ireland is a pleasure and a privilege; it was also a challenge that was rewarded by the very positive experiences that babies and their caregivers experienced while participating in I AM BABA.
The evaluation report details important findings and outcomes including that
- the collaboration between CYPSC and the theatre production company actively enabled children’s right to a high-quality arts production,
- participating parents or guardians together with their babies had an excellent experience of the I AM BABA production. Babies were mesmerised by the production and were engaged throughout,
- exposure to the Arts is extremely important for very young children as it has developmental benefits including speech and language development. Providing parents or guardians and their babies with an opportunity to explore new ways to play in a unique and comfortable environment, promoted not only their development but can encourage further participation in other arts events,
- the 2020 Community Tour enabled access to the Arts for families and babies that would not ordinarily participate. It ensured that a seldom-heard audience was reached by providing additonal supports to famlies that needed them. The provision of support to audience members to encourage and support their attendance ensured a higher turnout.
This production promoted developmental opportunities for 0 to 12 month olds, provided opportunities for caregivers and babies to bond and supported caregivers’ learning about creative play to stimulate babies’ learning.
84.2% of parents / guardians stated that their baby’s experience of the production was excellent and 93.2% felt that their own experience of the production was also excellent. Here's what some parents told us
“My baby was fascinated by the lights, music and the girls. He took it all in”
“Calming, magical experience”
“I enjoyed watching all the babies react to the experience and felt very relaxed myself”
“It was so peaceful and interactive, something different that you wouldn’t have done at home before”
CYPSC places importance on reflecting on our work and learning from our collaboration-in-action. With this purpose in mind the positive findings and recommendations from evaluating our partnership in the I AM BABA Spring Tour 2020 will be utilised to demonstrate the value of participation in the Arts and to inform any future similar collaborations.
It is notable that in the planning stages of this baby theatre tour that over thirty community based services for children and young people worked with 12 local CYPSC to identify suitable venues and target audiences for the production. While the Spring Tour 2020 was interrupted and disrupted by the onset of Covid-19 public health restrictions the work of these many organisations in collaboration with CYPSC and the theatre company is much appreciated and is evidence of a commitment to inter-agency working to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Our national model of inter-agency working is strong and demonstrating a system-wide capacity for people and services to organise around responding to the needs of children and young people and to share responsibility and to realise shared results.
Working to support I AM BABA has been an invaluable experience for us and as you read through our report, you will find these sentiments echoed by family members on behalf of themselves and their babies.
We'd love to hear what you think of our report. You can get in touch here!
We anticipate further creative artistic collaborations for children, young people and families in our future!
The I AM BABA 2021 Tour runs until the 10th November. Click Here for Tour Dates.
For more CYPSC news Click Here.