Starmer pledges arts education overhaul

Keir Starmer speaking at the Labour Creatives Conference
14 Mar 2024

Labour leader sets out his plans for creative education, improving conditions for freelancers, and his hope to boost funding for arts and culture organisations across the country.

Bridging the divide for children in the North

Childwall Academy
17 Nov 2022

At the heart of the cost-of-living and Covid storm, children and young people have fewer opportunities to engage in arts and culture and barriers to access are growing. Hannah Baldwin thinks this is a crisis in the making.

Education in need of a radical rethink 

First Encounters with Shakespeare production photograph
15 Sep 2022

Industry complains of a chronic skills shortage in areas such as communication and creativity. Yet our education system places little value on subjects that hone those skills, says Jacqui O'Hanlon.

Training the next generation: filming performance bootcamp

31 Aug 2022

Natalie Woolman explains how a bootcamp to develop a talent pipeline for the multicamera teams of the future will address a serious gap in skills training.

University and theatre partner on skills initiative 

18 Mar 2024

Staffordshire University has teamed up with the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford to give students a chance to get involved in productions on and off stage.

The BBC reports that under the scheme, drama students will be guaranteed an audition for the theatre's annual Shakespeare production.

In addition, students on other creative industry courses will be encouraged to try out backstage and technical roles.

Deborah Sanderson, Head of Strategic Marketing at Staffordshire University, said the scheme has the potential to "open doors" for students and graduates to get experience of the backstage environment and meet the people behind productions.

Starmer: Working class children 'denied arts opportunities'

11 Mar 2024

Working class children are being denied the same opportunities to become actors or musicians that private school pupils are afforded, Labour Leader Keir Starmer has said.

The Independent reports that analysis conducted by the Labour Party found that although 94% of children go to state schools, just 60% of British actors, directors and musicians nominated in the last decade for major film, TV and music awards were state-educated.

“It is short-sighted and frankly immoral, to allow arts and culture to become the domain of a few privileged pupils," Starmer said.

“Britain is a world leader in music and film, but we are holding back masses of potential because the Conservatives’ creativity crisis is shutting kids out.”

Starmer's comments follow on from a speech made by Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire last week in which she said creative education would be at the heart of the school curriculum under a Labour government.

Debbonaire: Labour will make creativity central to curriculum

Thangam Debbonaire speaking at the Big Creative UK Summit
08 Mar 2024

Shadow Culture Secretary says she is working with Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson on plans to "tear down barriers to opportunity" in arts, culture and the creative industries.

Unions critise makeup of advisory panel for cultural education

06 Mar 2024

Five trade unions have written to the Chair of the government’s Cultural Education Plan Expert Advisory Panel, saying the panel has failed to engage with them in the development of the forthcoming Cultural Education Plan.

The letter to Baroness Deborah Bull, signed by the general secretaries of the National Education Union, Equity, Musicians’ Union, Bectu and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, expresses "disappointment" that no union representatives have been invited to sit on the panel.

"Despite terms of reference which require the panel to represent 'those responsible for delivering cultural education and wider related sectors such as arts', no trade union representatives in the arts, entertainment or education were invited to participate since the panel was established in July 2023,” the letter states.

The panel, comprised of 22 people, has been overseeing the development of a new plan to improve cultural education for young people, which was due for publication by the end of last year.

Equity’s General Secretary Paul W Fleming said: “The fact that representatives of those involved in delivering the arts, education or entertainment have not been invited to input into this process beggars belief.”

“The complete lack of engagement calls into question the robustness of any recommendations which the so-called ‘expert’ advisory panel makes to government in advance of the proposed Cultural Education Plan.”

“If you want expert advice, you’re best off listening to the hundreds of thousands of world-class educators and creative practitioners working every day to deliver the arts, culture and education. You simply won’t have a meaningful Cultural Education Plan without them.”
 

Study highlights lack of diversity in GCSE Art

Young people working together on a piece of artwork
05 Mar 2024

Research finds just 2.3% of artists referenced in GCSE art exam papers are from Black or South Asian backgrounds. 

'In Wales we need to be creative like never before'

Graeme Farrow in front of Wales Millennium Centre
28 Feb 2024

Recent Welsh government budget cuts have created new fears across the creative sector about the impact on our communities, writes Graeme Farrow.

Reviving the fascinating art of millinery

Three hats on display on hat mannequins
26 Feb 2024

Millinery is often overlooked in the worlds of fashion and education. But, as Matthew Cunningham shares, it is experiencing a comeback.

Liverpool youth to lead £3.6m arts centre project

21 Feb 2024

A group of young people have been given £3.6m to transform a former primary school into an arts, sports and education centre for their community.

The BBC reports that Tiber Young People's Steering Group (TYPSG) in Liverpool, made up of 14 -18 year olds, will make all key decisions about the development of the four-acre Tiber Street Primary School site in the city. 

Chair, student Sha'Rae Riley, said: "We are the next generation and we know what young people want to see. We want to make sure the community has different jobs and opportunities for young people."

A grant of £3.58m from the government's Youth Investment Fund will be spent on educational rooms, a café, a function suite and an outdoor event space

The project is one of several initatives related to arts to be funded by the £90m investment programme.

Royal Academy of Music fears lasting Brexit 'damage'

21 Feb 2024

The UK's departure from the European Union may cause “terminal damage” to the UK’s music industry, the Principal of the Royal Academy of Music has said.

Speaking to the Scottish daily The National, Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood said the proportion of European students at the conservatoire has fallen by half since 2016 and warned that Brexit has “stopped the flow of talent coming in”.

“It has been a complete no-win situation, not just for higher education but actually for music higher education, and particularly an institution like this that was founded over 200 years ago by Europeans," he said.

“I think there will be terminal damage in an area where we have a world renowned reputation as educators and as people who make a difference worldwide in the creative industries.

“So at the moment, I think we're fighting against the tide and in some areas we're doing OK, but it's a colossal waste in terms of reputation, in terms of capability, in terms of possibility of things that Britain has always done incredibly well."

Measuring the impact of Shakespeare

School children taking part in RSC Romeo and Juliet workshop
20 Feb 2024

The RSC is currently the only theatre company to hold Independent Research Organisation status. It is using that to initiate research about things that matter to the whole sector, as Jacqui O’Hanlon shares.

Former ArtsEd teacher launches unfair dismissal claim

ArtsEd building exterior
14 Feb 2024

A tribunal has heard that a former teacher at ArtsEd claimed there was a “culture of fear” at the school and raised concerns over leadership.

Music licensing organisation to fund East London arts school

Year 12 students on ELAM's music course
13 Feb 2024

Phonographic Performance Limited will financially support programmes at East London Arts & Music that ensure equal access to the school's specialist education.

My Gurus: Voices of influence

Image of Melissa Thom
13 Feb 2024

From radio host to founder of an academy, Melissa Thom has always worked with the voice. Here she pays tribute to some of the inspirational people whose voices have influenced her.

UK Music criticises funding withdrawal for post-16 music

06 Feb 2024

UK Music is calling on Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to halt “damaging” plans to withdraw funding for post-16 music qualifications.

Government has proposed reforms that would defund the current suite of vocational Level 3 qualifications for music by 2026.

Level 3 qualifications in music are aimed at giving 16- to 19-year-olds skills and knowledge to progress to other training, study and employment options in a range of music production and performance disciplines. UK Music says the qualification has left students well-prepared for the often non-linear career progression in the creative industries. 

In a letter to Keegan, UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl says the move would leave approximately 30,000 young people a year without a viable alternative.

“Our primary concern relates to the planned defunding of the current suite of vocational Level 3 qualifications for music by 2026. There are not enough alternative options to fill the void that this creates,” Kiehl wrote.

“In the absence of a T-Level for Music, defunding for existing qualifications places a massive administrative burden on many in the music education sector, with qualifications having to be rewritten as Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) and approved by Department for Education. 

“While the introduction of AAQs is not new, its requirement for 'assessment by examination' poses a great challenge for educators to implement the necessary course changes within the timeframe available. Moreover, this approach to learning risks diminishing accessibility to a subject that has traditionally empowered learners from diverse learning styles and backgrounds.”

Kiehl's letter continues: “We therefore ask for an immediate pause in the defunding of all music qualifications that are due to be effectively ‘turned off’ by 2026 and ask for a meeting with you and a representative group of impacted music education providers to find a way forward.

“As an industry, we acknowledge that our success depends on a diverse and accessible range of education and skills options at various levels. Vocational Level 3 qualifications are crucial for the music talent pipeline and are often overlooked.”

Melvyn Bragg: Arts industry 'needs radical overhaul'

Melvyn Bragg, speaking in the House of Lords
01 Feb 2024

Labour peer describes UK arts provision as 'dangerously patchy' and calls for 'industrial revolution for the arts'.

Fourth round of Cultural Development Fund opens

30 Jan 2024

A pot of £15.2m will be available for cultural organisations across England in the latest round of funding under the government's Cultural Development Fund, it has been announced.

So far, 20 projects have received a combined total of £76.8m from the fund since 2019, with arts centres, community venues and heritage buildings among the beneficiaries.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said this year’s round will be the first time since 2019 that projects in London are eligible to apply to the fund.

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson said the further funding will extend government's work to level up access to arts and culture in a bid to ensure that everyone has high quality opportunities on their doorstep.   

“I encourage applicants to put forward ambitious proposals which will make a real difference to the lives of even more people across the country, and help to preserve the UK’s position on the world stage as a cultural and creative powerhouse,” he said.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England which is delivering the fund on behalf of DCMS, said the money will bring the transformative power of creativity and culture to more people in more places, across the country. 

"By investing in the infrastructure that cultural organisations need, we can help them make an even bigger impact on the places where they're based, benefiting the communities they work with," he said. 

Speaking separately at an event last Wednesday (24 January), Parkinson said the government's Cultural Education Plan will be published shortly.

"The development of a Cultural Education Plan represents an important opportunity for the range of people and organisations who have a stake and an interest in cultural education to work together and to work with us in government in a practical and tangible way to respond to that, and to improve the lives of children and young people," he said in a speech at the Association of British Orchestra's annual conference.

"The Cultural Education Plan, which we will publish very soon, aims to highlight the importance of high quality cultural education, promote the social value of it, to support career progression pathways, to address skills gaps and to tackle disparities in opportunity."

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