Youth Theatre Arts Scotland is led by its values and commitments, and aims to reflect them in all areas of work. YTAS also asks that its membership support and uphold these values.
YTAS’s values are…
Our Individual and Organisational Members agree to honour YTAS’s values and commitments through our Membership Values, and aim to reflect these across their own work. Here’s what this means in practice.
Members should work proactively with Youth Theatre Arts Scotland to support the development of a strong youth theatre sector. Members should proactively identify areas of their practice that could be improved upon and will be supported by YTAS to facilitate positive improvements at an appropriate pace for their organisation. They should support other YTAS members to make improvements to their own practice in areas where they may be more established, becoming an active collaborator in the development of and advocacy of a robust youth theatre sector for the future.
Members should support, enable, and champion children and young people to be active participants in their creative process. Members believe that young people should be involved in key decision-making to progress their creative process. They should have clear mechanisms in place and appropriate resources which enable and empower young people to genuinely affect change, development, and progress.
Members should understand that process and product are equally and mutually beneficial. Members should agree that the ‘process’ is the core learning system a youth theatre adopts to develop the personal, social, and creative ability of its young people. The ‘product’ is the conclusion of these processes. By employing a robust process, members should ensure that every young person has an equal experience and can make the best product for their abilities. Striving for a quality product should not undermine the joy their young people gain from the process.
Members should strive to broaden their understanding of technique and approach to enrich the delivery of their activity. Members should always be ready to learn, outward-looking, and receptive to external ideas and influences to enrich delivery. They should both make use of and enrich the sector’s network to enable all young participants to benefit from the widest possible range of skills and experiences.
Members should work to broaden access for those who want to participate in their youth theatre activity. Members agree that every young person in Scotland should have unrestricted access to a quality youth theatre experience and should not encounter barriers to access, either as creators or audience. Members should not be exclusive in their attitude, and should strive to remove barriers to their activity in order to promote participation which reflects and celebrates the diversity of Scottish culture.
Members should understand and implement current laws in relation to safe and appropriate youth theatre practice. The safety and welfare of participants, staff and audiences should be of paramount importance to our members. They should have clear and documented courses of action to protect participants involved in all aspects of activity, and they should have systems of review which ensure that their policies and procedures are up to date and relevant.
Members should have effective evaluation systems to assess their creative and operational output. Members should believe in the benefits of reflection as a way of encouraging ongoing improvements, building on their strengths, and learning from their mistakes or weaknesses to help them strive for quality. Members should endeavour to regularly reflect on their practice and have solid systems in place which promote ongoing internal and external feedback.
Membership of YTAS should not be presented as YTAS’s approval or endorsement of activities. YTAS are not a governing body nor a quality assurance scheme.
YTAS reserves the right to terminate membership if a member causes the organisation to be brought into disrepute.
For support with any aspect of the YTAS Membership Values, please get in touch.
Our members are located throughout Scotland and together they are responsible for the majority of youth theatre activity delivered across the country
Together we can ensure a strong future for theatre and the performing arts in Scotland for the next generation and beyond