This report, commissioned from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), is the first in-depth comparative study of arts projects in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units in England. Evidence from pupils, teachers and artists testifies to the capacity of the arts to engage disaffected young people and to contribute significantly to their educational, social and personal development. NFER's findings reveal: increased knowledge and skills, improved ability to listen and communicate in a group, markedly better confidence and self-esteem, and, in the place of failure, a sense of achievement, satisfaction and above all of enjoyment. With the growth of Arts Council England's regional network of Creative Partnerships, aimed at fostering creativity and cultural activities in schools, especially in disadvantaged areas, 'Serious Play' provides timely recommendations for planning, costing and developing arts projects for excluded children and recommends sustained funding on a larger scale.

Research shows that young people's attendance at places such as theatres, concert halls, galleries and museums declines as they progress through their teens. They may, indeed, experience only a fleeting acquaintance with cultural venues of this kind and then cease to visit them altogether - not necessarily because of a dislike of particular art forms but because these cultural venues and what they have to offer do not appear to be relevant to them. As a result of such assumptions and subsequent lack of involvement, young people may be denied the possibility of informed choice. How can venues, schools and others help young people to consider a wider spectrum of cultural experiences? 'Crossing the Line' has been commissioned by the Gulbenkian Foundation and Arts Council England to consider this problem. It reviews the evidence and includes important new research which asks young people what they think; looks at different types of initiatives concerned with this issue and highlights the questions that the various sectors may wish to ask themselves - for example, how cultural venues can make themselves more accessible to teenagers and the possibility of some young people serving as 'cultural mentors' to their peers.