Children & Young People

SCIP was created because co-founders Josie & Alice were frustrated by the lack of creative opportunities for children in the Seaford community. We wanted to be able to potter into our town and take our kids to something fun without having to travel to Lewes or Brighton!

It was quite clear that no one else was ever going to make that happen so we did it ourselves! Five years later SCIP is now a registered charity, producing critically acclaimed exhibitions, working with international artists and launching extensive youth engagement programmes! Turned out we weren’t the only ones in our community who wanted more for their small people!

In 2021 we launched SCIP Youth, this was a regular meet up for young people aged 11+ designed  to give them a voice about the culture in our community. We provide access to materials rarely found in mainstream schools, visiting speakers and an opportunity to help us understand what culture means to them

We hope that this programme will enable us to offer creative career and education advice as it grows, and provide an outlet for young people to find their tribe of likeminded friends.

This ethos has been an important part of The Beacon Show, and we designed an engagement programme which would help young people feel part of the show while finding new ways to learn from it.

Earlier this year over 400 submissions were received from schools across Sussex for The Beacon Show! Illustrations and stories inspired by Seaford beach – the standard was incredible! The SCIP Youth members helped us select their favourite illustrations all of which will be displayed on one of the beacons!

We were delighted to work with childrens book publishers Rocket Bird Books on this part of the project too, and editor Libby Hamilton selected her favourite written entries for the show

What incredibly talented, creative, clever kids you've got in Seaford – with amazing vocabulary and grasp of simile and metaphor!

A series of workshops are also planned for the summer which will give children and young people a chance to get creative, and learn some new skills too. These workshops are all free of charge, and we are still seeking funding for all of these projects.

Free school resources will also be available to download for free, these cover a range of subjects from KS1 upwards! Please come back soon to download these!

Giving young people access to the arts is vital for their social development, their mental health and future employability. We can help ensure the young people in our community get every advantage they deserve to thrive in life, and the arts are an important part of that.

Please support SCIPs ongoing youth programme by donating today.