Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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£15m to be invested in cultural education
Government announces plans to build on recommendations of Cultural Education Review.
A new national youth dance company and an academy for young film-makers are among measures announced yesterday to ensure all children have their lives enriched by cultural education.
The plans follow recommendations from the independent Review of Cultural Education in England carried out by Darren Henley, managing director of Classic FM.
His review, published yesterday, covers all areas of cultural education and aims to ensure that all children, especially those from poorer backgrounds, are able to access the arts.
The review was commissioned by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and Education Secretary Michael Gove last year. The Department for Education (DfE) yesterday confirmed it will invest more than £15 million over three years to lay the groundwork to make Mr Henley’s recommendations a reality while a number of DCMS arms-length bodies will be be involved in funding and runnning schemes.
Measures revealed yesterday include:
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a new national plan for cultural education;
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a new national youth dance company funded by DfE and Arts Council England (ACE);
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a network of national art and design Saturday clubs to give schoolchildren access to specialist equipment and tuition at local colleges and universities;
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a “heritage schools” initiative that will see English Heritage (EH) work with schools to encourage them to explore historical sites in their local area;
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a film academy for young people led by the British Film Institute (BFI);
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a new cultural education partnership group made up of the lottery distributors - the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), ACE and the BFI - working with EH, museums and galleries and other partners.
Mr Henley said: “School will inevitably form the most significant part of a child's cultural education. This is particularly the case with children who come from the most deprived backgrounds. In these instances, many of their parents and carers may themselves not have been lucky enough to benefit from a wide-ranging cultural education.
“There is therefore a gap in understanding and experience among the influential adults in these children's lives. We need to bridge the divide so that all children, from whatever background, experience the richness of a varied cultural education.”
Mr Vaizey said: “Darren Henley has once again done an excellent job bringing together the many people who can nurture an interest in arts and culture in our young people. I am particularly pleased that the BFI, ACE, HLF and EH have come together to form a partnership, ensuring the wonders of our great cultural heritage are enjoyed by all children.”
Further information
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Read the background to yesterday’s announcement in our blog by Darren Henley
