Comedian Anna Devitt founded DirectDevitt Comedy & Confidence using her own experience and research to create a learning environment where all learners can achieve.
In her own words, “DirectDevitt started as a small idea using my own comedy career and knowledge of how laughter really helped people overcome sad times. Often I would come off stage and people would come over and say, ‘Thank you, I really needed to laugh today’. These little moments and my own mental health battles got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be good to spread more laughter?”
The learning programmes
Anna devised and delivers the Comedy & Confidence qualifications, which teach students how to use comedy as a tool to battle mental ill-health and build self-confidence and emotional resilience. Each programme offers hands-on experience of performing comedy, and learning communication and confidence techniques for use in daily life.
The awards also incorporate employability skills, self-development and entrepreneurial skills. The target audience is young people aged 12+, including those outwith mainstream education.
The qualifications are available at SCQF levels 3, 4, 5 and 6, and have been credit rated by SQA.
The Confidence Award at SCQF level 4 is now being delivered online, alongside Resilience through Creativity (RTC) level 4, which incorporates the National Progression Award (NPA) in Creative Industries and Mental Health & Wellbeing Award.
Why did you decide to take this programme online?
“All of the Comedy & Confidence programmes are underpinned by mental health benefits. With the unprecedented chaos that the pandemic brought to the world, we understand the need for mental health resilience and the resultant benefits that our programmes deliver to students. So we felt that the time was right to take the level 4 programme online.
How difficult was it to adapt your programmes to take them online?
It’s been fairly difficult as everything we do is creative – even the way we gather evidence is creative, we use videos and voice notes and, rather than the traditional methods of essays, we have scripts! However, all of our clients have been great and really worked with us.
Client Roslyn Mahon from Community Learning & Development (CLD) North Lanarkshire said:
“Although we have no experience in the physical Comedy & Confidence programme, the online course is really good at bringing young people out of their comfort zone. We are finding the screen is normally a barrier, however this doesn’t seem to be the case with Comedy & Confidence. This course is providing the young people with transferable skills that they will not only use in the workplace but in life too.”
What support did you receive from your credit rating body?
We have had great support from SQA Credit Rating Service and the SCQF Partnership. Both organisations have really supported my vision and are very forward-thinking. Every time I have approached them with a question or idea, they have always been welcoming and happy to engage and advise.
Education is a variety of things and it’s great that SQA Credit Rating Service and SCQF Partnership can see my approach to learning and have added value to it by having the programmes credit rated. SQA was also very helpful at getting our remaining candidates through when the pandemic hit.
Anna added: “We can make education work for everyone very simply. Education can be an enlightening experience and everyone can learn, but not everyone learns the same way, so it is time to evolve and re-create elements of education. It can be done, it has been done, and I look forward to seeing more creative approaches and outcome-based units using creative assessment methods within the curriculum.”
For more information on the Comedy & Confidence Awards, visit www.annadevitt.co.uk
