Arts Award Voice has had an exciting refresh, and in this blog we’re going to show you the updated Voice site, highlighting key features and how it can support young people and you as an Arts Award adviser in delivering and guiding young people through their Arts Awards.
Whether you’re supporting learners at Bronze, Silver, or Gold, the updated platform makes it easier to find portfolio examples, signpost resources, track progress, and develop young people’s portfolios.
Register a profile
Getting started begins with creating a profile on Voice. Both young people and organisations can sign up:
You can register a profile for free here – if you want a walkthrough you can watch back our recent webinar, Exploring Arts Award Voice in which we demonstrate creating a profile.
Once registered, young people can begin posting content and uploading reviews, blogs or opinion pieces straight away. Posts will be published within 24 hours to allow time for the Voice team to just check content and keep everyone safe online. The Voice team can contact anyone who uploads content via email, and also anyone who comments on user’s posts or blogs, so everyone joins a supportive community.
Voice prides itself on maintaining a safe and supportive digital environment for young people - something you can reassure learners about when introducing the platform.
Resources
The Resources section is particularly valuable for young people, offering structured guidance that aligns closely with Arts Award requirements.
There are dedicated hubs for Bronze, Silver and Gold which clearly outline expectations and can be used as a teaching and planning tool for Advisers. The Hubs are divided into three sections:
Portfolio Examples
Within the Resources section of the Arts Award Voice site, the Portfolio Examples Hub is especially useful when supporting learners in understanding how evidence can be compiled.
It’s important to note that examples are not full portfolios, reflecting the fact that each young person’s portfolio will be individual and varied. Instead, they provide a range of examples across different Parts of Arts Award levels, highlighting varied art-forms and different approaches to evidencing work.
A key improvement is the ability to filter examples by:
Building portfolios using Voice
Voice can be used as an effective tool for building and storing young people’s portfolio evidence digitally.
You can watch the video below from the Editor of Arts Award Voice, Tom Beasley, which demonstrates how young people can upload content to Voice. While the example shown is a review, the same process applies to all types of posts:
Young people can upload a wide range of evidence, including images, YouTube or web-links, video content and audio files.
This flexibility allows learners to create multi-media portfolios, supporting different learning styles. As an adviser, this can also support more streamlined feedback and tracking of progress over time.
Arts Award Voice as a remote centre
Arts Award Voice also operates as a remote Arts Award centre, offering an alternative route for the delivery and completion of Arts Award. This can be particularly useful if you are unable to deliver certain levels or a young person does not have access to an Arts Award adviser locally.
Through this offer Voice supports young people through the Arts Award framework and they help keep learners on track with their progress. Once a portfolio is complete Arts Award Voice will assess the work and then enrol the learner with Trinity for certification.
Overall, the updated Arts Award Voice platform provides a clear, structured, and flexible way to support delivery. It offers a combination of guidance, inspiration, and practical tools inspiring your young people and helping you to better support them throughout their Arts Award journey. Want to hear more about the helpful updates on Arts Award Voice? Watch back our webinar, Exploring Arts Award Voice.