Many children in England do not recognise talent in themselves, and connect the concept of talent with celebrity, according to a survey undertaken by the Prime Minister’s Talent and Enterprise Taskforce in advance of Shine, the first National Schools Festival in England. Of the 1,000 children polled, over 34% equated talent with “being able to sing or dance” and 14% connected it with football and other sports. The news coincides with the Government’s announcement of ten areas which will pilot the ‘Find Your Talent’ programme. £25m has been set aside for the pilot, which will trial the Government’s plan to give every child five hours of cultural activity every week. Applications to run the pilot came from 141 organisations, from which the following were chosen: Bolton Borough Council, The Creative Foundation (South East Kent), Customs House (North and South Tyneside), Hampshire County Council, Leeds Children’s Services, Leicestershire County Council, ‘Liverpool City Region’ Partnership, North Somerset, Telford and Wrekin Council and Tower Hamlets in East London.
