Creative Partnerships
Creative Partnerships is the Government’s flagship creative learning programme. Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, it is designed to develop the skills of young people across England, raising their aspirations, building their confidence and enhancing their skills. Since 2002, Creative Partnerships has worked with over 2,700 schools across England, and more than 12,800 schools in total have had some involvement in the programme.
The aim is to foster long-term partnerships between schools and creative professionals, including architects, scientists, multimedia developers and artists. These partnerships inspire young people, teachers and creative professionals to challenge how they work and experiment with new ideas. The programmes demand that pupils play a full role in their creative learning, taking responsibility for their own progress. The ambition is for young people to develop the skills they need to perform well not only in exams and extra-curricular activities, but also in the workplace and wider society.
Schools Programmes
Creative Partnerships works with maintained schools from Key Stages 1 to 4 across England. Each school applies to one of three programmes according to its needs and its commitment to creative learning:
- Enquiry Schools
Enquiry Schools engage in a creative learning programme targeted at a specific group of pupils and teachers. - Change Schools
Schools in areas with significant challenges engage in an intensive programme that supports the creative development of the whole school. - Schools of Creativity
These schools are at the cutting edge of creative learning, engaging in an intensive, long-term programme. Schools of Creativity lead local and national school networks and help to shape policy and practice throughout Creative Partnerships.
In each school, creative professionals work as creative agents, helping to deliver the programme, or as creative practitioners working directly with students and teachers. By working with creative professionals from many different disciplines, young people can develop a variety of skills and experiences.
Similarly, creative professionals benefit from working in schools. By being exposed to new voices and different views, they are challenged and their personal creative practice is enriched.
Creative Partnerships also supports teachers by delivering ongoing practice-based professional learning and knowledge sharing.
The Creative Partnerships effect
Independent research and reports by Ofsted and a Parliamentary Select Committee have shown that Creative Partnerships has a significant positive impact on everyone involved: young people, parents, teachers and schools, as well as creative professionals.