Creative Journeys Report 2019

Creative Journeys 65 Furthermore, in the stage two interviews it was identified by participants that having a conducive culture in the home was an enabler for the success of arts activities. This conducive culture included a culture of risk-taking, leadership/management support, making time for informal interaction, and a broader culture of resident involvement. Following on from this, it was also reported that arts activities in care homes can in turn change the attitudes and behaviours of staff, with the arts acting as a catalyst for cultural change in the home. However, it was highlighted that high staff and resident turnover makes it difficult to maintain a care home culture conducive to arts participation. The staff that were involved here, I think, yes, they always enjoy joining in anyway, and encouraging people to become involved. I think the staff, yes, they definitely saw value in the sessions with others, and as I say, certainly, particular members of people that might not have ordinarily joined in. (Stage one care manager) In relation to a lack of funding in the care sector, a need for funding to enable aspirations such as hiring transport for cultural trips for residents, was identified as a barrier in the stage two interviews. Likewise, in the survey only 14/27 participating homes (52 per cent) had a specific budget set aside dedicated to providing arts activities, and only 6/27 (22 per cent) had a specific budget for bringing external practitioners in. Lack of funding to pay for additional externally run activities was identified as the joint leading barrier to providing arts activities in the participating care homes. Changes in staffing and staff roles, and the unpredictability of each day in the homes, could also pose challenges to the success of the arts programmes in stage one. As discussed further in the section on sustainability, one of the stage one care homes closed shortly after the arts programme had ended, reflecting the unpredictable and ever-changing nature of the care home sector which presents a barrier to sustainability of impacts. Being short-staffed also represented a barrier to achieving the required practicalities and preparation for the arts programmes to really succeed. In terms of care home capacity, the activities coordinator was a key factor in facilitating or providing participatory arts activities in the care home and promoting impacts on the social relationships of residents. Support from the wider care staff was desirable, though often not achievable, and therefore a care home culture that fully supports the arts in terms of staff attitudes as well as appropriate funding was also hugely important. The next sections look at the potential for sustainability of both the provision and impacts of participatory arts in care homes. 4.8 Sustainability Sustainability is an important factor in delivering participatory arts as increasingly funders and commissioners want to see lasting or renewable positive impacts. Sustainability of both the availability of participatory arts in care homes and of the impacts of participatory arts on the social relationships of residents were prominent issues raised throughout stage one and stage two findings. There were a number of key approaches that were introduced or suggested to promote sustainability: creating a lasting legacy, supporting care home staff to provide continued arts activities, and the potential for collaboration between arts organisations. The opportunities and challenges to these approaches are discussed in the following sections.