SKILLS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE!

A colleague sent me  link to the The Centre for Youth Impact and Local Government Association document, 'A Framework of Outcomes for Young People 2.0' which affirms the work we had been doing in Sheffield with the Cutlers Company to develop programmes to help young people develop the skills required to thrive and succeed at school, in work and in life!!

The Catalyst Framework of Outcomes 2012 took as its starting point the emerging evidence that social and emotional skills play a key part in young people’s ability to make successful transitions to adulthood and achieve positive life outcomes including educational attainment, employment, and good health. It was an attempt to make clear connections between what are often considered to be the short-termor ‘soft’ outcomes of provision for young people and the longer-term impacts. The framework was well-received by the youth sector initially, and many practitioners started to use it as the basis for defining and measuring the outcomes they hoped to achieve with young people, assisted by the matrix of measurement tools included with the framework. However, the Catalyst Framework ultimately failed to make as great an impact on the sector as had been hoped, emerging as it did into an environment of severe reductions in resources available for youth work and other forms of developmental work with young people. As well as reducing the actual offer available to young people, budget reductions led to a significant decline in leadership roles within the youth sector, both locally and nationally. As a result, the Catalyst Framework lacked advocates in senior roles in local authorities and national organisations, and has lost traction in the last five years.

THE ARTS MATTER!

I have been reading some research in the British Medical Journal. 'The art of life and death: 14 year follow-up analyses of associations between arts engagement and mortality in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing' which looked at impact of the arts on longevity. The study is very clear about the importance of arts engagement... "it could be linked to longevity by alleviating chronic stress and depression, and providing emotional, cognitive, and social coping resources that support biological regulatory systems and behavioural choices. Arts engagement is also known to enhance social capital, which builds individual and collective resources, and to reduce loneliness, which is associated with mortality. Arts engagement can support cognitive reserve, and promotes empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, which are all linked to a greater chance of survival. Arts engagement could help to reduce sedentary behaviours, which are well established predictors of cardiovascular health and immune function, and might also reduce risk taking behaviours. Arts engagement is linked to a greater sense of purpose in life, which is itself associated with better immune function and healthier behaviours. Further, creativity and imagination, which are an intrinsic part of artistic engagement, have been linked to increased chance of survival across the evolution of our species. So there is a strong theoretical rationale that underlies the hypothesis that arts engagement could be linked to people’s chance of survival."

This study explored whether arts engagement could help us live longer, happier lives. "We analysed the longitudinal relation between receptive arts engagement and mortality across a 14 year follow-up period in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 50 and older. Results showed a dose-response relation: risk of dying at any point during the follow-up period among people who engaged with cultural activities on an infrequent basis (once or twice a year) was 14% lower than in those with no engagement; for those who engaged on a frequent basis (every few months or more), the risk was 31% lower. The association was independent of all identified confounders, was found across all major causes of death, and was robust to a wide range of sensitivity analyses."

HOW TO LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

Another blooming Christmas and as I have said for a long time we simply need stay connected with friends and colleagues and volunteer and give to others whenever and whatever we can. Interestingly, I was re-reading some research gathered on more than 1,500 children who were about 10 years old when they were first studied in 1921. This study has been used to create the most comprehensive longitudinal evidence for how to live long and prosper.

CLIFTON GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL, 'FEVERED SLEEP' AND 'THE INSTITUTE OF EVERYTHING'!

I visited Clifton Green Primary School this morning. I love visiting primary schools who are doing such important work in some of the most interesting communities we have here in York. The team are very obviously 'releasing a very special Clifton Green magic'! I really enjoyed briefly looking around the school and hearing about their partnership with 'Fevered Sleep' and the work they have been doing with the children and the school team as part of 'The Institute of Everything'.

NEW EEF GUIDE

“It doesn’t matter how great an educational idea or intervention is in principle; what really matters is how it manifests itself in the day-to-day work of people in schools.”

The NEW EEF Guidance Report 'Putting Evidence to Work' is well worth reading

PISA 2018 RESULTS!

PISA RESULTS AND WORLD CLASS SKILLS!!

Our children are no different to children anywhere in the world and I was looking at the latest PISA results and they make interesting reading. The UK has made "positive" progress in international school rankings, based on tests taken by 15-year-olds in 79 countries and regions. The tests, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, show the UK results improving in reading, maths and science. But we lag behind top performers such as China, Singapore and Estonia as well as Finland, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and Poland. 

Worryingly, the UK's teenagers were also found to have among the lowest levels of "life satisfaction" and happiness, which is not surprising in a country where we test, check and monitor our children more than most other countries across the world. Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's education director, said there were "positive signs" from the UK's results for the tests taken in 2018 - which he said showed "modest improvements". Still it's good news that:

• In reading, the UK is 14th, up from 22nd in the previous tests three years ago
• In science, the UK is 14th, up from 15th
• In maths, the UK is 18th up from 27th

The next PISA tests will also focus on creative thinking in 2021 and digital learning in 2024, although the UK is apparently not going to take part!! Sad really in a world where the kind of things that are easy to teach and test have also become easy to digitise and automate. And especially, when the skills that will be required to thrive and succeed at school at work and in life in general are the skills that underpin the arts and culture and sport.... teamwork, communication, planning, creativity, problem solving, organisation, imagination, awareness and a sense of responsibility. Skills that our children need to enable them to harness the opportunities of the 21st century and to shape our world for the better.

IMPORTANT STUFF: People are happier in places that spend more money on public places like parks and libraries!

“We are not paying taxes, we are investing in our society. 

We are purchasing quality of life.”

Meik Wiking

To date there has been no rigorous empirical investigation into how government spending specifically on public goods impacts well-being. An important new study published in the journal Social Science Research finds that Americans report greater levels of happiness in states that spend more money on public goods such as parks, libraries, infrastructure and public safety. The report provides robust evidence that citizens report living happier lives when their state spends more (relative to the size of a state's economy) on providing public goods. Interestingly this relationship didn’t hold when considering all government spending or when considering spending on other categories such as welfare or education. Those categories did not produce a meaningful change in well-being in any direction. That suggests that public spending on categories accessible to everyone has a similar effect on the well-being of everyone.Moreover, the statistical relationship between public goods spending and happiness is substantively large and invariant across income, education, gender, and race/ethnicity lines – indicating that spending has broad benefits across society. These findings suggest that public goods spending can have important implications for the well-being of Americans and, more broadly, contribute to the growing literature on how government policy decisions concretely impact the quality of life that citizens experience.

If money buys happiness, in other words, then so does government spending on libraries!! 

SKILLS MATTER!

The IBM Institute for Business Value has produced a report which identifies which skills matter most. Executives’ responses indicate workers require a blend of both digital skills and soft skills – also called behavioral skills – to be successful in the workforce. In the IBM 2016 report on global skills, “Facing the storm,” executives placed a high value on digital skills. The latest research reveals that a shift is occurring; executives’ views regarding the priority of critical skills have taken a turn from digital and technical to behavioral or so called soft skills. In fact, soft skills dominated the top four core competencies global executives seek.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ARTS IN SCHOOLS

WHY DO THE ARTS MATTER?

WHY DO THE ARTS MATTER?

THE 'ARTS IN SCHOOLS' TOOLKIT.... GET YOUR COPY!

The 'Arts in Schools' toolkit has been designed to inform, help and inspire us all to take action against the downward trend of the arts in schools and to make them an entitlement for all our children and young people. Get your copy at baccforthefuture.com/resources

READING IS THE KEY TO LEARNING!

Research shows that it's the single most important thing you can do to help your child learn. 

So read little and often. Put aside some time for it every day. 

Think of ways to make reading fun.

Tips for helping your Some tips to get your child to enjoy books and reading:

• Encourage your child to pretend to 'read' a book before he or she can read words.
• Visit your local Explore library as often as possible - take out CDs and DVDs as well as books.
• Schedule a regular time for reading - perhaps when you get home from school or just before bed.
• Borrow books and talk about books and stories and develop a love for them.
• Look for books on topics that your child is interested in - maybe dragons, insects, cookery or a certain sport.
• Make sure that children’s books are easily accessible in different rooms around your house.

PASSION, PERSISTENCE AND HARD WORK MATTER!

Interestingly, people who work hard, persevere and have passion are more likely to be successful than those with high IQ or those who are simply conscientious. These qualities need to lie at the heart of the curriculum we offer our children and young people... 

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH!

I found this quote searching the internet... remember "most of us miss out on life's big prizes. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Tonys. Emmys. But we're all eligible for life's small pleasures. A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear. A four-pound bass. A full moon. An empty parking space. A crackling fire. A great meal. A glorious sunset. Hot soup. Cold beer. Don't fret about copping life's grand awards. Enjoy its tiny delights. There are plenty for all of us."
United Technologies Corporation slogan

So when the going gets tough.... congratulate a colleague, hug someone special, sit out and watch the stars, park the car and watch the sunset, drink red wine, strong coffee and eat great bread... smile, laugh and cry when things matter and simply remember that you are a unique, special and extraordinary human being and whatever you do don't feel that you are on your own and finally don't let the xxxxxxxxx get you down!!

IMPORTANT READING 'The Arts for Every Child: Why arts education is a social justice issue'

‘By identifying access to and participation in the arts, culture and heritage as an aspect of social justice itself and a powerful weapon against poverty, in all its manifest forms, the Welsh Government has made it clear that it understands the role played by culture in making us the sort of people we are and the people we want to be.’
Baroness Andrews (2014) Culture and Poverty a report for the Welsh Government

Make sure that read the new Cultural Learning Alliance Briefing: 'The Arts for Every Child: Why arts education is a social justice issue' with a foreword from Moira Sinclair, CEO of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation

'50 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE FIVE!'

St Edmund`s NSCC is a nursery school and children’s centre in Bradford, committed to providing an outstanding learning environment for young children under the age of 5. They launched the ’50 Things to do Before You’re Five’ initiative which focuses on the development of children’s speech, language and communication skills. Each one of the 50 things is a fun activity for the child to take part in with his or her carer, ranging from going to the seaside to making a snowman. You can have a look at their app on the Play Store and App Store.

THE ARTS ARE THAT DIFFERENCE!

JOIN US!

LOVE THIS! 25 CREATIVE THINGS TO DO IN KIRKLEES!

INVICTUS!

Out of the night that covers me, 

Black as the pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods may be 

For my unconquerable soul. 

In the fell clutch of circumstance 

I have not winced nor cried aloud. 

Under the bludgeonings of chance 

My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears 

Looms but the Horror of the shade, 

And yet the menace of the years 

Finds and shall find me unafraid. 

It matters not how strait the gate, 

How charged with punishments the scroll, 

I am the master of my fate, 

I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley

IT'S WORLD SMILE DAY!

JOIN US!

‘Creativity and the arts are so powerful to young hearts and minds and can be their salvation ... They are inclusive, can communicate in a universal language, and can change lives for the better.’
Wendy Rawlinson, Headteacher, Queen Victoria School, Dudley, Platinum Artsmark School

JOIN US!

NATIONAL TRUST: HOW MANY HAVE YOU DONE?

SOMEWHERE TO START: DfE PRIMARY ACTIVITY PASSPORT!

IMPORTANT STUFF: ‘The arts has to be at the heart of the curriculum'!

Ed Vaizey MP, a previous Minister for Arts who continues to be a strong advocate for arts education, spoke on 17 July about the importance of arts education for ‘our creative industries and the wellbeing and life chances of young people’ saying: ‘The arts has to be at the heart of the curriculum'.

WORRYING STUFF: ARTS GCSE ENTRIES FALL AGAIN IN 2019!

This year's GCSE results show that between 2010 to 2019 in England there has been a decline of 38% in the number of arts GCSE entries, from 673,739 in 2010 to 419,664 in 2019. The arts matter because we know that the skills needed to thrive and succeed at school, at work and in life in general are the skills of the arts!!

MORE WORRYING STUFF: Continuing decline in the hours of arts teaching and number of arts teachers in England’s secondary schools!

What is going on? DfE figures published in June 2019 show that between 2010 and 2018 the number of hours the arts were taught in England’s secondary schools fell by 23% and the number of arts teachers fell by 22%. The arts matter because we know that the skills needed to thrive and succeed at school, at work and in life in general are the skills of the arts!!

SAMARITANS SING ALONG!

IMPROVE YOUR PASSION AND SKILLS AND BECOME A STAR!

COMMUNITY MATTERS

"Devote yourself to loving others,

devote yourself to your community around you,

and devote yourself to creating something 

that gives you purpose and meaning."

Morrie Schwarz

We are not going to tackle the real issues facing us in this country by doing more of the same and at times like this I often ask myself what are we trying to achieve? What is our vision for our schools, our libraries, our hospitals, our care homes, our public services? How do we continue to build brilliant organisations, in brilliant places to serve brilliant communities? What is the trick to releasing the magic and unlocking the potential of each and every child, of each and every colleague and of every family and every community to be their brilliant best? Of course, I understand people's impatience with failing services but I have my doubts about the easy answers It’s the quality of what goes on in organisations that matters and everything points to the fact that people are the key to success. Evidence suggests that big improvements are possible provided we focus vigorously on the things that make a difference. This isn't intended as an excuse because the critics are right, satisfactory will never be good enough and we must constantly strive for answers to the poor services that we have put up with for so long. We need to build world class organisations with world class standards.

I have worked for over forty years trying to answer these challenges and those of us who have spent our lives at the front line know the real answers lie where they have always been...

• strong, disciplined, focused and passionate leadership;
• clear, shared vision, values and beliefs;
• talented, energetic, enthusiastic and creative teams;
• empowered, trusted and disciplined colleagues;
• powerful, stimulating and interesting environments;
• high self-esteem and high expectations of everyone;
• strong, dynamic and meaningful coaching relationships;
• high engagement and involvement of customers;
• positive engagement and involvement of the communities we serve.

We need to be determined, persistent and focused even if it is hard.… whatever it takes!

TRUST MATTERS

FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS!

It has been a long hot Summer where I have been reading, learning, listening and looking at evidence, research, analysis and case studies. Over the last year people have focused once again on the wrong things as the keys to success and to improve outcomes and failed to recognise the importance of people, feedback, challenge, shared experience, environment and community.

TEACHING THE ELEPHANT TO DANCE!

A colleague asked me recently how she should start with the challenges she was facing and I told her she should read a great book by James Belasco. Reading 'Teaching the Elephant to Dance' taught me such a lot about the management of change and that changing organisations and structures and cultures is possible. However, it also made me realise that changing anything is a complex task and that is where I learned so much about cultural change, learning leadership, beautiful systems and intelligent accountability.

CULTURE MATTERS!

IT'S NOT THE CRITIC WHO COUNTS!

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

We must continue to develop a culture of team with co-operative and collaborative approaches where we network and share what works and create 'centres of learning excellence' and where we learn from our own best practice and what works everywhere and anywhere. We must recognise and celebrate that every school is on a learning journey; a journey to outstanding and we must constantly challenge ourselves to do better. It's also increasingly clear that OFSTED doesn't work in this context and we need to develop a new accountability framework and a model to celebrate excellence and quality assure what we do. Since I worked in York, where we developed 'Schools Learning Together', a Gatsby Charitable Foundation project, I have worked to develop new models where we find and share the bits of magic in every school and be totally honest about the areas where things aren't good enough and then connect. We must work together to develop centres of learning excellence supporting teacher to teacher and school to school learning within a powerful and reflective learning community with a relentless and uncompromising focus on what works and importantly what doesn't.

BE POSITIVE!

“You can program yourself to be positive. Being positive is a discipline … 
and the more adversity you face, the more positive you have to be. 
Being positive helps build confidence and self-esteem”

Rick Pitino, University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach

WE NEED OUR FAIR SHARE!

The real problem we face here in York is that all the indicators suggest that everything is OK and outcomes and achievements are high. However, what is also true is that the gap between those doing well and those doing badly is larger here that anywhere else in England and in every one of our schools and in every classroom there are children and young people whose engagement with arts and culture is as limited as any of the places receiving funding through the Arts Council. It isn’t fair that these young people miss out on these brilliant projects and funding opportunities!

CRESSIDA COWELL'S WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S LAUREATE CHARTER

I was in Harrogate over the weekend and noticed this in Waterstones window...

These are some of the promises I think we should make every child!

Every child has the right to...

Read for the JOY of it

Access to FREE books in schools and libraries

Have advice on what to READ from a trained librarian or teacher

Own their OWN book

Write their OWN stories

Be READ to every day

CHOOSE what they want to read

Be CREATIVE for at least fifteen minutes a day

See an AUTHOR event once a year

Have a SAFE place to read

Let me know your promises!!

CHARACTER MATTERS...

Over the last forty years, working at all levels in education and business, I have learnt the hard way that knowledge rarely changes people's behaviour or their lives. Despite convincing evidence, it's interesting that so many people won't listen... they won't stop smoking, they won't stop drinking, they won't lose weight, they won't exercise, they won't drive slower, they won't put down their phones when they are driving and they won't change the habits of a lifetime!

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...

THE ARTS MATTER JUST AS MUCH AS LITERACY AND NUMERACY!

People constantly tell me that the arts are not as important as literacy and numeracy. I disagree... 

JUST DO IT!

Throughout my working life I have lived with constant and relentless change. Things have never stayed the same and I have been blessed to be living in a world where creativity, innovation and change have been constant factors.

WHAT WOULD LIFE BE LIKE WITHOUT THE ARTS?

"The arts are a central part of the human experience and young people cannot participate or understand our history without engaging in the arts..."

It's funny but thinking about learning and realising the importance of coaching, practice and hard work inevitable leads me back to the arts. My experiences in York and Leeds where we developed powerful arts services, and working with some brilliant colleagues, musicians and artists, have shown me that the arts provide languages and opportunities for shaping and expressing our understandings and can powerfully engage learners and provide them with opportunities to share, develop and learn from what they know.

The arts, like sport, help develop capacities and attitudes central to learning and to life and uniquely help develop imagination and empathy. The arts are a rich context for learning and developing the skills that matter. Young people are required to listen, think critically, problem solve and make decisions, things that lie at the heart of all learning. The arts help young people develop self-confidence, self-discipline and self-esteem and come to understand what it means to achieve high standards and to work as part of a team. And of course the arts bring us joy and bring joy to learning and make schools happier and more vibrant and exciting places. What would your life be like without the arts?