In stark contrast with England, where the future of the creative education scheme ‘Creative Partnerships’ is under threat from funding cuts, a new Education and Culture Action Plan for Scotland is placing creativity at the heart of Scottish education. A bold attempt at helping children to develop their creative skills, the initiative will see the education and culture sectors working more closely together, with training and professional support being made available for teachers and creative practitioners. A National Arts Education Network involving all of Scotland's local authorities is to be established and in the interim, a website has been developed by Creative Scotland, in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland, to publish good examples of creativity in education and showcase projects and opportunities offered by Scotland’s cultural organisations.
The plan is fully backed by the Scottish Government. Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said: "If we are to equip our children with the skills they need to succeed in the new global economy, we must teach them to be resourceful, flexible, confident, responsible and, perhaps most of all, creative. That is why it is so crucial to have creativity at the very heart of education.” Hyslop revealed that the plan “is the culmination of months of collaborative work involving a number of bodies – and ministers – to develop resources that will aid both creative teaching and creativity across the curriculum. [It] will aid the rollout of Curriculum for Excellence in our schools and give teachers a forum for sharing best practice across the country."
Published: 27-09-2010