Creative Partnerships – What is Creative Partnerships?

A new national initiative, joining schools with artists and focusing on creativity, is gathering momentum.

Creative Partnerships is a creative education programme developed jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) delivered by Arts Council England. Already regarded as a blueprint for education, Creative Partnerships helps our children, in new ways, to embrace the challenges of living and working in the 21st century.

The idea behind Creative Partnerships is simple ? to animate the national curriculum (the sciences and the arts) and to enrich school life by making best use of the UK?s creative wealth and to put creativity at the heart of learning. It is an ambitious, transformative programme that builds partnerships between schools and creative practitioners ? and the resulting work is already showing an impact.

The school children taking part in Creative Partnerships are everywhere! Their films play at festivals and they?ve performed with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. They?ve designed gardens in Slough and buildings in Durham and Sunderland. Their book ?Excuses? challenges stereotypes surrounding young people with learning needs. They?ve even built exhibits for a science museum in Norfolk.

Quality matters and by working with creative professionals, children and young people are raising their aspirations, gaining in self-confidence and enjoying being creative.

Creative Partnerships was established within Arts Council England in 2002: targeted at priority areas for economic regeneration, a pilot programme was set up in 16 areas followed by a further 11 in 2004. These first 25 areas are Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, Basildon, Birmingham, Black Country, Bradford, Bristol, Cornwall, Coventry, Cumbria, Derby, Durham and Sunderland, Hull, Kent, London East, North, South, Manchester and Salford, Merseyside, Norfolk, North and South Tyneside, Nottingham, Plymouth, Slough, Southampton and Isle of Wight, and Tees Valley. By Spring 2005, Creative Partnerships will also be working in Ashfield, Bolsover and Mansfield, East Lancashire, Forest of Dean, Hastings and East Sussex, Leicester, London West, Northumberland, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Tendring and Thurrock.

Each area has a Creative Director and a team of three people and the areas are supported by a national team. CP schools and partners are now developing a valuable body of knowledge and wide ranging experience of inclusive education. They are supported by CP teams to take risks, build innovative relationships and deliver real results. It?s simple but very powerful. And what?s more it makes a big difference to everyone!

For more information visit http://www.creative-partnerships.com