Parliamentary Committee endorses Creative Partnerships.
Creativity must be taken seriously by the Government and should be placed at the heart of learning, according to a new report just published by the Parliamentary Education and Skills Committee. Endorsing the work of Creative Partnerships, the Governments flagship creative learning programme, the Committee concluded that the imbalance in funding between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the DCMS suggests that creativity is a second-order priority for DCSF, and called on it to review policies such as Every Child Matters and personalised learning to ensure that creativity is established as a core principle on learning and development. The majority of Creative Partnerships funding has until now come from the DCMS, supplemented by a smaller contribution from the DCSF.
The Committee said it was vital that creative learning extends to subjects outside of the arts, and called for all schools to benefit from the investment made in Creative Partnerships, even if they have not yet participated directly. The report also concluded that The best education has creativity at its heart, adding that the evidence suggested a high level of support for more creative approaches to teaching among school staff and creative practitioners. Urging Creative Partnerships to expand opportunities for the reciprocal mentoring of teachers and creative professionals, the Committee recommended that this should become a priority: The professional development of teaching staff is& essential in order to embed creative approaches to learning [we] believe this should be the core of Creative Partnerships work.
Another area in need of further development was found to be the involvement in Creative Partnerships-funded work by sectors other than the creative and expressive arts, notably industry, science and design. Linked to this was the recommendation that the Creative Partnerships scheme should move away from the Arts Council, towards the DCFS. The report said, Consideration should be& whether the patronage of Arts Council England (ACE), with its very particular remit, is still appropriate given Creative Partnerships wider ambitions.
The Chairman of the Education and Skills Committee, Barry Sheerman MP, said, Our inquiry found a high level of support for creative approaches to teaching and learning in schools, with many practitioners clearly convinced of the positive effects on a childs learning and development. It is not always clear that the DCSF is similarly convinced... We urge our successor Committee& to assess whether schools need to shape the National Curriculum to their needs, or whether the Curriculum requires change to make space for creativity.
Paul Collard, National Director for Creative Partnerships, said: I am delighted that the Committee has recognised the importance of the work that has been done over the last few years by so many teachers, creative practitioners and children, in particular that our work should be made widely available to schools and young people. He added that Creative Partnerships would do all in its power to implement the recommendations.
Saying that was rewarding to see that the report acknowledges how Creative Partnerships has thrived within the Arts Council, ACE Chief Executive Peter Hewitt, said, Creative Partnerships has made real progress in putting creativity on the educational agenda.