Children and young people

A legacy donation in excess of £3m has been left to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) and Welsh National Opera (WNO).

The organisations have said that the money, left by the late David Seligman, will be used to deliver lasting support to the training of singers and musicians and will also create future opportunities for young artists to perform on a professional scale.

RWCMD Director of Music, Tim Rhys-Evans said: "I had the very great pleasure of knowing David and [his late wife] Philippa for many years and saw first-hand their belief in young people and the power of singing to enrich young lives. 

"Their passion for opera in particular was something incredibly dear to them, and the need for this artform to be made accessible and relevant to young people of every background was a major driving force behind their philanthropy. 

"David knew the impact that legacies of any size can have, and now his exceptional gift will ensure that future generations of artists will continue to be supported for many years to come."  

WNO Youth Opera Producer, Paula Scott said: "We are incredibly grateful for this generous bequest. David and Philippa Seligman were passionate supporters of WNO Youth Opera, and we are delighted to be honouring them both by continuing our work with young artists." 

Schools are facing shortages of specialist teachers in key areas including drama, posing a threat to children’s education, Labour has warned.

Analysis found that more than one in five drama lessons were taught by a non-expert teacher last year, The Mirror reported. 

The teaching analysis follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement that he plans to get all children to study maths until the age of 18, despite a shortage of specialist teachers. He has so far failed to set out how he plans to resolve the shortage. 

In a speech to the NAHT union’s annual conference on Saturday, Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson vowed to hire more teachers using money raised by ending tax breaks for private schools.

Labour wants to axe these schools’ charitable status, which exempts them from charging VAT on fees. The party estimates that the change would raise £1.7bn per year for the state education system.

“Labour will recruit thousands more teachers to ensure pupils are taught by specialist teachers in each subject, and drive higher standards in schools. We will pay for this by ending tax breaks for private schools,” the party tweeted last week.

“Staff shortages are a growing problem, extend widely across many different subject areas and are impacting education on a daily basis,” said Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

“The expectation to have a specialist teacher at the front of every classroom is not an unreasonable one, but is not the reality for many pupils. Schools are increasingly being forced to turn to supply staff to cover for vacancies.”

This can be disruptive for students and also raises costs for schools, he added.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said there are 24,000 more teachers working in classrooms in England than in 2010.

“Conservatives are delivering higher standards for children by recruiting and training excellent teachers, helping them to fulfil their potential and grow the economy,” he said.

But the analysis showed that ongoing shortages of specialist teachers is also affecting other subjects, including physics, French, German and maths. 

More than 60 youth music projects in Scotland have received funding in a bid to 'drive inclusivity and tackle social issues'.

Nearly £1.7m has been provided to 63 community music projects through the Scottish Government-backed Youth Music Initiative (YMI).

The funding is administered by Creative Scotland.

Most of the funded projects – 58 in total – received awards through the Access to Music Making stream, aimed at young people who face 'opportunity barriers'.

The remainder were funded via Strengthening Youth Music. This supports individuals, organisations and networks which undertake 'strategic action' to promote the country's youth music sector.

Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager at Creative Scotland, said the funding was "supporting an incredibly diverse array of projects that will create meaningful opportunities for children and young people to take part in music activities right across the country".

Now in its 20th year, projects funded by YMI in this latest round include Paisley-based Kibble Education and Care Centre, Music Space in Glasgow – a new initiative produced by AC Projects, the organisation behind the city's Counterflows festival – and Angie's Project in Edinburgh, which focuses on electronic music production education.

YMI's flagship funded projects include the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland, Highlands-based Fèis Rois and Lothian’s A.R.T.S Afternoon. 

A digital theatre group is working with young people in Edinburgh to tackle the online radicalisation of masculinity and 'Incel' (involuntary celibate) culture.

Civic Digits will co-produce a new theatre production, 'Many Good Men', with the Edinburgh-based Stellar Quines theatre company, YouthLink Scotland, Zero Tolerance Scotland and Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Award-winning playwright Clare Duffy, Civic Digits’ Founder and Artistic Director, said: “We're planning to support two groups of young people to write and direct two new forum theatre plays about the radicalisation of masculinity online. It will be performed by professional actors at Hearts F.C. stadium.”

The project will involve working with groups of 15–to 18-year-olds in their communities and will be developed over the next nine months.

The performances at Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh will take place in December.

'Many Good Men' is one of 46 projects to receive a total of £1.6m in National Lottery funding in the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards. 

Other funded projects include the 2023 editions of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival and Edinburgh Festival Carnival, and this year's Open Studios Hebrides.

Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland, said "a range of new and important stories will be told as part of the latest round of Open Fund awards". 

A community arts programme in Eastbourne scheduled to coincide with the 2023 Turner Prize has been awarded £480,000 in funding from Arts Council England.

The funding will support Towner Eastbourne, the gallery set to host the Turner Prize later this year, along with a range of local partners, to boost creative and cultural opportunities in the seaside town.

The funding has been allocated from ACE's Place Partnership Fund, backed by the National Lottery, and will facilitate Eastbourne ALIVE, a project aimed primarily at children and young people and those from disadvantaged communities.

Headed by Project Director Sarah Dance, the project aims to create a new legacy for Eastbourne by broadening access to art and culture through creative experiences and activities in and around the town. 

“Our ambition is to place the town’s image firmly in the hands of young people, harnessing their creative energy for years to come,” Dance said.

The project, which is backed by East Sussex County Council, involves community partners including Compass Arts, which will curate a visual arts exhibition in hotels along the seafront, with an open submission programme intended to serve as a platform for vulnerable and disabled artists.

Devonshire Collective will work with local young people and marginalised communities to co-curate a series of commissions, events, talks and films inspired by the Turner Prize in multiple locations.

Towner Eastbourne is also set to deliver an engagement project that will provide exclusive access to the Turner Prize exhibition, artist-led activities and a digital and printed toolkit for Year 9 students in local schools.

The project will also engage East Sussex Public Health to measure the impact of creative projects on young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health. It includes a partnership with Talent Accelerator to encourage and support young people interested in creative industry careers.

“We know that creative opportunities can have a powerful impact on children and young people’s lives - supporting their confidence, encouraging them to develop and embrace new ideas, and helping them to build connections,” said Hazel Edwards, Area Director, South East at ACE.

“The creative skills development and career pathways embedded in this project will ensure that there is an important legacy to Towner Eastbourne hosting the Turner Prize.”