Bridging the gap

£10m a year is being earmarked from Arts Council England’s (ACE) predicted Lottery funds for 14 organisations across England to be ‘bridge organisations’ for children and young people. These organisations will aim to improve local delivery of arts opportunities for children and young people, exploit regional knowledge of arts opportunities both in and out of school, help schools to gain Artsmark, and ensure a legacy from Creative Partnerships and the Find Your Talent pilots. A spokesperson for ACE told AP that the organisations are “to build on the learning from past programmes and to ensure more arts opportunities are available to children and young people both in and out of schools.” A diverse range of organisations have been selected to perform this role, including The Mighty Creatives and Curious Minds, which have been delivery organisations for the Creative Partnerships programme, specialist youth agency Artswork, creative research and development agency CapeUK, and social enterprise agency Real Ideas Organisation. In London, a network of delivery organisations – The Roundhouse, Apples and Snakes, Lyric Hammersmith and Sadler’s Wells – will be led by the agency A New Direction. The Norfolk and Norwich Festival, the Royal Opera House’s new operation in Thurrock and Sage in Gateshead will also be in the front line of ensuring arts experiences for young people, with the latter two also taking the lead, together with Youth Music, in implementing the recommendations of the Henley Review on Music Education. All the organisations were selected on the basis of their “wealth of expertise and experience in working with children and young people in the arts” and are thought to be well placed to help achieve its stated goals for children and young people – according to ACE, “their budgets will be very much focused on art rather than brokerage”.