There has been a massive decline in arts for young people over the last 15 years. So much so that Joe Hallgarten thinks we need a dedicated national organisation to repair the damage. The current review of ACE might provide an opportunity.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In the second in our series profiling the shortlisted candidates for City of Culture 2025, Shanaz Gulzar shares how Bradford's young people shaped a bid that awakened a sleeping giant of a city.
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Ballet Cymru is offering support to children and young people living with juvenile arthritis as part of a creative collaboration launched with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, funded by Arts Council Wales.
Dr Joanne May, a consultant at the Children's Hospital for Wales, who initiated the Dance to Move partnership, said: "We aim to deliver holistic care, but time in clinics is limited, which often means the focus is on condition management and treatment.
"Early on, we recognised that creative interventions would benefit children not only because dance elements would support movement, but also because they provided an opportunity to build confidence and support the wellbeing of children and their families."
The programme provides an immersive experience for children and families by offering dance, drawing, costume design and storytelling.
Research led by a dance company found keeping pupils active in the classroom improved their maths and English learning.
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Environmentalist Chris Packham joins young people taking part in sit-in protest over museum's links with coal firm.
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Art therapy is associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents in a hospital-based mental health unit, a new study published in the Journal of Mental Health has found.
Researchers, led by Sarah Versitano, examined more than six years of data from a child and adolescent mental health hospital ward in Australia to understand if the use of restrictive practices, such as seclusion or physical restraint, was lower during the periods when art therapy was offered compared to times when it was not available.
The findings showed "a clear association" between the availability of art therapy and reduced frequency of seclusion, physical restraint and injection of sedatives in mental health units.
Researchers suggest that the trend could have emerged as art therapy may decrease severe distress levels among patients, reducing the risk of harm to themselves or others.
In forthcoming research, the same team aims to understand better young people's experiences of art therapy and why it appears to reduce distress.
Evaluation of carer support programme funded by Creative Scotland finds that despite a strong positive response from participants and organisations there are questions concerning sustainability.
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Review into impact of arts programmes aimed at preventing youth offending finds insufficient evidence to calculate their effectiveness, but anecdotal evidence points towards positive outcomes.
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Standstill funding, increased employer pension costs and the financial impact of the pandemic are putting England's network of music education hubs under increased pressure.
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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.
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.”
Research finds just 2.3% of artists referenced in GCSE art exam papers are from Black or South Asian backgrounds.
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The Afghan Youth Orchestra’s four-date tour in England will go ahead after the Home Office u-turned on a decision to reject the ensemble’s visa application following public outcry.
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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.
Schoolchildren in the West Midlands will benefit from a new pilot scheme promising free travel for theatre visits.
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is offering the scheme, estimated to be available to more than 300 pupils in Dudley.
Any school in Brierley Hill, Dudley that receives a minimum 25% pupil premium will qualify for transport when booking tickets to a Grand Theatre production.
The Richardson Brothers Foundation has funded the project, which is also supported by Prospect Coaches. Grand Theatre has indicated it is seeking additional funding to expand the offer to other parts of the Black Country.
Alex Rawlings, Head Teacher of Quarry Bank Primary School, which has used the scheme, said: "For [pupils] to see a live production of a book they are studying massively supports their learning, whilst also exposing them to the magic of theatre."
Arts-centric youth organisations will receive more than £3m from the government's £90m Youth Investment Fund, with the money going to some of the country's most underserved areas.
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Touring theatre company Theatre Alibi is set to become an arts venue after opening a permanent base.
Prior to losing its Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio status, which equated to £241,597 of annual funding, the company developed touring plays from a base at Exeter’s Emmanuel Hall.
It now plans to use the hall as a child-centred arts venue, named The Centre for the Imagination for Young People and Children.
The space will host its first event during the current half term and plans to host and share the work of other creative organisations.
Chief Executive Debbie Bucella told the BBC the organisation reached 13,000 children annually with its tour.
"When that funding got removed, sadly we had to stop doing that work, but we looked at what our assets were and the biggest thing that we have is this building," Bucella added.
"We decided we would reach children and still give them something spectacular and a great cultural experience but just within our own building".
An Arts Council England spokesperson added: "We're thrilled to see children and young people experience Theatre Alibi here in Exeter".
"Thanks to public funding, we are able to support their pivot to a new model at Emmanual Hall so that audiences of all ages can get creative."
