News – Vocational arts qualification for schools

A consultation process has begun in to plans to develop a new Creative and Media Diploma for 1419 year-olds in England. The new vocational qualification, which is being designed by Creative & Cultural Skills, the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries, will offer an alternative to traditional subject-based qualifications for school children thinking of a career in the sector. Due to be introduced by 2008, it will involve practical elements such as work placements as well as classroom-based teaching, in what is being described as work-oriented learning. Last years Government White Paper on education identified 14 areas of learning that matched the UK economy, one of which was the creative and media sector.
Specialised diplomas are being developed in each of these areas and the Creative and Media Diploma will be among the first to be launched. In an attempt to ensure the new qualification will have industry relevance, cultural businesses are being asked to engage with a consultation process to inform the Diplomas development. Arts organisations are being asked to advise on the skills and knowledge the Diploma should provide in order for students to succeed in the cultural sector.

An Internet-based consultation blog has been established at http://www.creativeandmediadiploma.org, and Creative & Cultural Skills has published an online questionnaire at http://www.ccskills.org.uk and will be staging events around the country. Launching the consultation, Tom Bewick, Chief Executive of Creative & Cultural Skills, said, This is an exciting new qualification for young people that has the potential to revolutionise the curriculum& It will potentially give young people more choice about how they study and aims to enable students of all abilities to work towards a high calibre qualification that is directly relevant to their lives and work. The key issue is to ensure it has industry backing.