YORK CULTURAL EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP

I have recently been appointed as Chair of the York Cultural Education Partnership and I am really pleased to be working again in York with schools, colleges and universities and the arts and cultural sector! Our goal as a partnership is to work together to provide every young person in the city with access to a rich, vibrant and exciting arts and cultural offer. This is so important because the arts are part of what should be a cultural entitlement for all and also provide our young people with the skills and attributes needed to succeed in life, at school and in work!

I am also delighted to be working with colleagues from IVE again. IVE is a not-for-profit creative development agency that places creativity at the heart of learning, thinking and doing. Their mission is to find, nurture and grow creative potential by exciting children and young people through inspirational access to the arts and culture and importantly equipping life long learners with the skills and attributes they need to thrive and succeed in life, at school and in the world of work.

We have a rich cultural and artistic heritage here in York and a huge number of arts and cultural partners who can link with children and young people in schools to release the magic. As well as a thriving community sector, the city has over 60 professional arts and heritage organisations, as well as over 400 businesses in the arts, heritage and creative industries field. The city also has a wide range of music and theatre venues as well as 17 museum sites, 11 galleries and 5 other venues for arts and heritage activity and 27 regular festival programmes operate in the area of arts and heritage. The city is also home to around 1,500 students studying arts and heritage related programmes at world class universities. York is also the only UK city with UNESCO City of Media Arts status.

Working with this rich cultural landscape, we need to work with every school in York to encourage them to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum offer that promotes and delivers access to the arts and culture and make York the first UK city to promise and deliver a cultural entitlement for all its children and young people. We can start by developing some projects and opportunities which will draw creative partners and schools together to help them see what can be achieved through the arts and culture and the impact this can have on GCSE outcomes. My starters for ten are as follows...

1. We need to build on the hugely successful 'Light//moves' project at Park Grove Primary School to involve more schools and more young people;
2. We need to develop and fund an artists in residence programme to take dancers, musicians, storytellers, performers, designers, makers and media-artists into schools to excite and inspire young people;
3. We need to develop a creative partnership programme linking as many York based cultural and arts organisations with schools for a term/year;
4. We need to develop a cultural profile/passport to develop a progressive skills based pathway to help guide young people through school, college and university and into apprenticeships and the world of work and and on to create happy, healthy, creative and successful adults, families and communities.
5. We need to develop a portfolio of research, case studies and stories about the impact of the arts and culture on standards and outcomes;
6. We need to have an annual celebration of our children's and young people creative ideas and magic. 

The York Cultural Education Partnership is happy to share, connect, and work with anyone and everyone who shares our passion and belief in the magic that exists in each and every child and young person and the power of the arts and culture to release that magic.... whatever it takes!