People with learning disabilities want to be part of things but they remain one of the most socially excluded groups in society and are vulnerable to bullying and discrimination. This means that work is needed to make communities more welcoming and to remove barriers to participation. Drumming Up Change is a project which set out to do this by promoting positive relationships between young people and people with learning disabilities in Drumchapel, Glasgow.

Drumming Up Change was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and has four main partners, Fortune Works, Drumchapel High School, the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde. Drumming Up Change took place in Drumchapel in Glasgow, where Fortune Works, a social enterprise for people with learning disabilities run by Enable Glasgow is located. Fortune Works was one of the organisations that helped develop the project. Fortune Works has long established links in the local community that have been crucial to the success of the project. Drumchapel High school agreed to come on board once we had funding in place. Drumming up Change is about promoting positive relationships, challenging prejudice and strengthening a sense of community belonging. It has involved people with learning disabilities from the outset.

The idea of Drumming up Change grew out of earlier projects about an anti-bullying resource for secondary schools which aimed to promote understanding and acceptance of people with learning disabilities Talking about Learning Disability (link below) and a second study Talk-LD+ which looked at whether secondary schools could be supported to bring school students and with people with learning disabilities together and the difference that having that contact made. While the schools came up with great ideas for joint activities the Covid-19 pandemic stopped them from happening. However, the schools’ ideas and enthusiasm to make connections with people with learning disabilities led us to believe that a community-based project would be feasible.

The three main phases to Drumming up Change were:

1. A series of workshops, bringing together young people from Drumchapel High and people from Fortune Works, to come up with plans for community activities.

2. To follow through the programme of joint activities planned in the workshops.

3. As the group developed and changed, to think about new ideas and opportunities for activities and for sustaining the group for the longer term.

The DUC group first came together in October 2021 in Drumchapel Sports centre. The workshops were led by the University research team and a staff member from the Scottish Commission for learning disabilities (SCLD) and were supported by staff from Fortune Works and the youth worker from Drumchapel High. There was a strong sense of collaboration from the outset. The organisations worked together to create a welcoming and supportive environment to enable all members of the DUC group to feel valued and to support them to make telling contributions. The six workshops took place over a 6-month period from October 2021 to March 2022. The active participation and involvement of young people from Drumchapel High and people from Fortune works increased as the workshops progressed. The participants worked together, in mixed groups, to come up with their own ideas for activities and they worked on plans to make the activities happen.

The first DUC events took place in Drumchapel High school in June 2022; a baking session in the morning and a five aside football tournament in the afternoon which was open to other members of Fortune Works and students from Drumchapel High school. These events were a great success. The DUC group then attended a research skills workshop in the University of Glasgow to help the DUC group play a part in capturing how the project was working.

2022-2023

As the students in the core DUC group entered sixth year in August 2022, we recruited younger students from Drumchapel High to sustain the group. The larger group of fifth and sixth-year students met in January 2023 to plan activities for the year ahead. Two key projects were identified, the design of an inclusive mural for the doors of Drumchapel St Mark’s Church and the development of an antibullying workshop for schools in collaboration with the Respect group at Fortune Works, including new film materials. The group worked on both of these projects in a series of five workshops from January 2023 until April 2023.

We had anticipated running a programme of activities based on the ideas generated by the workshops in Phase 1 of the project. However, early on we realised that working together to produce ideas, artwork and plans for activities is important in its own right. Taking time to identify, develop and plan for activities, helped to build positive relationships. Consequently, when the new students from Drumchapel Highschool became involved in the second year of the project we held further workshops. This helped the evolving group to work together to develop, plan and carry out new activities. Both Drumchapel High school and Fortune Works supported this model.

The DUC group also participated in several other events including the opening of the Apple tree Orchard at Fortune Works alongside representatives from G15 Youth group, four local primary schools, two nurseries and local dignitaries. They also enjoyed a picnic and games at Ross Priory on the banks of Loch Lomond.

The DUC group held another baking event at the High school where they worked with other students to produce boxes of cookies to share. They also held another fun filled football event, this time at the Drumchapel United ground. This is now an annual fixture at the Donald Dewar Centre.

2023-2024

A new series of activities kicked off in the autumn of 2023, beginning with a kayaking trip on Loch Lomond supported by the Drumchapel and Clydebank Kayaking club, this has also become an annual event that will be continued. Once again, 2023 saw new members joining the DUC group. However, there was also a change of staff supporting the groups from Fortune Works and Drumchapel High School. In addition to repeating some of the activities of the previous year (e.g , football, university workshops, Ross Priory) new outings were organised including a Bushcraft camp, supported by the local youth group, G15 where the group learned how to light fires and put up hammocks. They also went bowling and had a trip to Kelvingrove Art galleries. Their creative projects included the design and painting of another mural in Drumchapel and the design of an exhibition of the DUC project at Glasgow University.

Drumming Up Change has successfully established links between Fortune Works and Drumchapel High School and it has helped to raise the profile and participation of people with learning disabilities in the local community. As the university involvement in the project is coming to a close, we have secured commitment from our partners at Fortune Works and Drumchapel High school to continue the work of the project. We were clear from the outset that we wanted DUC to be sustainable once the funding had ceased. The question of how best to do this has been a constant consideration throughout the project. 

The vision for the future working of Drumming Up Change is that the key staff from Drumchapel High school and Fortune Works will continue to work together to keep the project going. The connections made with other community groups will also help to support the continuation of the project.

The overarching aim of Drumming up Change was to promote relationships between people with learning disabilities and young people in Drumchapel. You can hear more from the DUC group about this via the Drumming Up Change film, made by the late Kevin Harvey of Drumchapel TV, at the link below.