1. Executive Summary
Enable Studios CIC is a London-based community interest company that teaches young disabled people the skills to create with emerging technology. This Social Impact Plan sets out our pilot programme: a six-month tutoring and mentorship course for disabled young people aged 16+, delivered initially across Tower Hamlets, Southwark, and Hackney, covering filmmaking, directing, cinematography, AI for creativity, and immersive technologies.
The programme culminates in two public-facing outputs produced entirely by participants: a short film and a digital exhibition. These outputs are the proof point of the model — that with the right access, tuition, and mentorship, disabled young people can produce technically ambitious, original creative work and be seen doing it.
2. The Need
Young disabled people in London face compounding barriers to entering creative and technology industries:
- Formal creative education and industry entry routes (film school, junior production roles, tech apprenticeships) are rarely designed with access needs in mind.
- Emerging tools — AI creative software, immersive/interactive technology, professional filmmaking equipment — are expensive and rarely taught with adapted delivery.
- Disabled creators are underrepresented in film, animation, and immersive media, both behind and in front of the camera.
- Tower Hamlets, Southwark, and Hackney each have above-London-average rates of disability and youth unemployment, alongside strong but under-resourced local arts and community infrastructure.
Enable Studios responds directly to this gap: free or low-cost, access-led tuition in high-demand creative technology skills, delivered locally, with a clear route from learning to a public creative credit.
3. Who We Serve
Primary beneficiaries: Young people aged 16 and over, living with disability (physical, sensory, neurodivergent, and/or mental health-related), resident in or connected to Tower Hamlets, Southwark, or Hackney.
Secondary beneficiaries: Families and carers (reduced isolation, visible progression); local disability and youth organisations (an active creative pathway to refer into); the wider creative and tech sector (a pipeline of trained disabled talent and portfolio evidence that challenges assumptions about who can use these tools).
We will work in partnership with local disability charities, SEND services, day centres, and youth organisations across the three boroughs for recruitment, co-design of access provisions, and safeguarding support.
4. Programme Design
A six-month cohort-based programme combining structured tutoring, one-to-one mentorship, and hands-on production, delivered in accessible venues across the three boroughs.
4.1 Curriculum strands
- Filmmaking fundamentals — story, script, production planning
- Directing — working with performers and crew, shot-listing, on-set leadership
- Cinematography — camera operation, lighting, composition, adapted equipment
- AI for creativity — generative image, video, and audio tools as part of a creative workflow
- Immersive technologies — interactive and real-time tools (e.g. projection, sensor-based, and generative environments) for exhibition-based work
4.2 Six-month structure
| Phase | Duration | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Foundations | Months 1–2 | Core skills across all five strands; access needs and adaptive equipment set up per participant; team and idea formation |
| 2. Development | Months 3–4 | Participants choose a specialism track (film or immersive/AI); scripting, previsualisation, and prototyping begin under mentor guidance |
| 3. Production | Month 5 | Filming, AI-assisted asset production, and immersive piece build-out, with mentor support on set/in studio |
| 4. Showcase | Month 6 | Edit, finish, and stage the short film screening and digital exhibition |
4.3 Delivery model
- Small cohort sizes to allow individualised access adaptation and meaningful mentor contact
- Delivery led by industry-experienced tutors alongside disabled creative practitioners as mentors
- Access provisions built in from the start: adapted equipment, flexible pacing, sensory-considerate venues, transport/travel support, and communication support (BSL/captioning/easy-read materials) as needed per cohort
- Rotating venues across Tower Hamlets, Southwark, and Hackney in partnership with local community and arts spaces
5. Outputs at Month 6
A short film — written, directed, shot, and edited by participants, screened at a public event in one of the three boroughs.
A digital exhibition — AI-assisted and immersive/interactive work created by participants, presented as an accessible online exhibition and, where possible, a physical/hybrid showcase event.
Both outputs are attributed to participants by name (with consent), giving each young person a public creative credit they can carry into further education, job applications, or freelance work.
6. Theory of Change
| Input | Activity | Output | Outcome | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutors, mentors, accessible venues, adapted equipment, funding | 6-month tuition + mentorship across 5 creative-tech strands | Short film + digital exhibition produced by participants | Increased technical skill, confidence, and creative portfolio for each participant | Disabled young people have genuine pathways into creative/tech careers; sector norms shift on who is seen as a creative technologist |
7. Measuring Impact
We will track a small set of clear indicators across each cohort:
- Number of participants recruited and retained across the 6 months (target: 85%+ retention)
- Skills gained, self-assessed pre- and post-programme against the five curriculum strands
- Confidence and wellbeing measures, self-assessed pre- and post-programme
- Completion and public presentation of the film and digital exhibition
- Progression outcomes at 3 and 6 months post-programme (further study, employment, freelance commissions, continued creative practice)
- Participant and carer feedback, collected through accessible formats (verbal, written, or visual as needed)
Data collection methods will themselves be accessible — offering multiple formats so no participant is excluded from having their outcomes recorded.
8. Partnerships
Delivery will be grounded in local partnership rather than working in isolation:
- Local disability organisations and SEND/youth services in Tower Hamlets, Southwark, and Hackney — for recruitment, co-design, and safeguarding guidance
- Community venues and arts spaces in the three boroughs — for accessible delivery locations and the final showcase
- Creative and tech industry contacts — for mentor recruitment and potential progression routes for graduates
9. Safeguarding and Access
- Named safeguarding lead and a written safeguarding policy covering young people (16–17) and adults with support needs
- DBS-checked tutors and mentors
- Individual access plans agreed with each participant (and carer/support worker where relevant) before the programme starts
- Venues assessed for physical, sensory, and communication accessibility before confirming
10. Sustainability Beyond the Pilot
The pilot is designed to generate the evidence base — participant outcomes, the film, the exhibition, and partner relationships — needed to secure follow-on funding and expand to further London boroughs. We will pursue a mixed income model: grant funding (e.g. Arts Council England, disability-focused funders, local authority community funds), earned income from commissioned workshops and industry partnerships, and sponsorship tied to the showcase events.
Enable Studios CIC — Social Impact Plan — Draft for internal use and funder review.