02 March 2010
Welcome to the culture club
Heather Jameson
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Trying to encourage take-up of cultural services can be tough. A recent MJ debate, organised with Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), asked how we can engage young people in the arts. Heather Jameson reports.
Culture is perhaps one of local government’s ‘Cinderella’ services, failing to get the attention and, more importantly, the funding it needs.
The MJ and Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) met in central London to discuss the issue of culture, and around the table were several experts from central and local government, and the culture sector. Among them were pilots for the Government’s ‘Find your talent’ programme, just one way young people are being encouraged to explore culture.
But it has an important role to play, in both education and encouraging young people to find their role in life’ and explore their talents.
It soon emerges that it is not a lack of cultural opportunities which is a problem. ‘There is a huge amount of activity – but it’s about bringing that together,’ says one attendee. Indeed, it is very easy to get people involved in culture – particularly the middle classes – but it is not so easy when we are talking about engaging those from more deprived backgrounds.
‘ABCs will use cultural facilities. Ds and Es don’t. But we are trying to get through to them.’
The MJ and Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) met in central London to discuss the issue of culture, and around the table were several experts from central and local government, and the culture sector. Among them were pilots for the Government’s ‘Find your talent’ programme, just one way young people are being encouraged to explore culture.
But it has an important role to play, in both education and encouraging young people to find their role in life’ and explore their talents.
 |
| Pic: Mike King |
It soon emerges that it is not a lack of cultural opportunities which is a problem. ‘There is a huge amount of activity – but it’s about bringing that together,’ says one attendee. Indeed, it is very easy to get people involved in culture – particularly the middle classes – but it is not so easy when we are talking about engaging those from more deprived backgrounds.
‘ABCs will use cultural facilities. Ds and Es don’t. But we are trying to get through to them.’
As one of the representatives of a council explains: ‘Engaging families and getting buy-in in a place such as ours, which is particularly poor – that’s really quite a challenge.’
Under the children’s plan, the Government has pledged each child should have five hours of culture a week. This includes all sorts of programmes, from museums and music, to dance and films.
That pledge was finalised at the end of last year, and now forms part of the Children, Schools and Families Bill, currently going through parliament. While the Bill is unlikely to make it through before the general election, it remains to be seen if the Opposition will negotiate to get this on to the statute books.
But already, there is a ‘lot of good news’.
‘Two-thirds of youngsters do five hours or more [of culture] each week. We are not starting from a position of despair.’ However, ‘there is a hard core of people who are doing nothing at all.’
The pilot schemes have started to make in-roads. Many of those around the table point to working with large-scale cultural organisations, including the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
In one instance, the company worked with children in care and in schools with ‘huge levels of deprivation’ – and delivered great success.
Another project focused on those not in education, employment or training (Neets) and on vulnerable and looked-after children. A group of 20 young boys trained in break-dancing. The project has led to a complete turnaround in confidence for a few of those boys – with some even coming back to ask for references to go to study dance at college.
Around this table, the idea of using culture as a means of raising life expectations and attainment – both for communities and for individuals – is commonplace.
One of the debaters explains how their organisation shifted from one where the staff were very much focused on their own silo departments, to one where the employees cluster around a project instead. Culture has helped break down silos and focus the staff. ‘And that has been a massive step forward.’
Culture has been used in this authority to pull people together to work on regeneration and to improve outcomes. ‘It’s not just about transforming learning. We have been working with the local community on this, and across a range of partnerships, so it is not just run as a local authority project.’
The council is now using culture and creativity to consider how it works with Building Schools for the Future to make schools community and cultural hubs for the 21st century, as well as the learning establishments they have always been.
With a general election looming on the horizon, the inevitable question of politics arises. What will the vote mean for cultural services and education policy?
The feeling is that, whichever party wins the election, there is a direction of giving schools more authority – whether that be academy schools or the Swedish model schools the Conservatives are now talking about. Both parties also seem to be emphasising the localist agenda – and that applies to culture too.
Despite the set of national criteria laid down, that doesn’t mean a lack of localism. It is understood – and, indeed, encouraged – that this will look different in different areas, due to the varied cultural heritage in different localities.
But schools face a difficulty of fulfilling their statutory duties, and culture is seen as an extra. Local authorities are more concerned with ensuring schools are improving than undertaking cultural programmes.
‘It comes down, sometimes, to funding,’ as one debater states. While culture does represent ‘very good value for money’, and it ‘has a benefit’ and schools accept the benefit, there is a fear that, if funding gets tight, this is not something schools will want to continue to fund. As someone chips in: ‘Everyone loved music services, until they had to pay for them.’
The idea is that this needs to be an entitlement, rather than an added extra. The difficulty with being an extra is that it will be in danger of losing funding if it is not seen as being essential.
There also needs to be the understanding at a local level. One of our delegates has seen the number of local authority advisers fall over the years. They are not just brokers but ‘real experts’, but she is now ‘one of a dying breed’.
As one expert points out: ‘We are still at a stage where people need to be charged with making this work.
It needs some nurturing to be much more mainstream.’ There is also a need for ‘someone central who understands schools and has the confidence to negotiate with the big cultural organisations’.
Education and culture ministers are keen to make this work – but this is something which should be handled at a local level. The Department for Culture Media and Sport, in particular, has very little spending capacity as a government department, but has a big influence.
As one debater concludes: ‘The interesting dilemma for ministers is about how much they want to push themselves into the foreground.’
Under the children’s plan, the Government has pledged each child should have five hours of culture a week. This includes all sorts of programmes, from museums and music, to dance and films.
That pledge was finalised at the end of last year, and now forms part of the Children, Schools and Families Bill, currently going through parliament. While the Bill is unlikely to make it through before the general election, it remains to be seen if the Opposition will negotiate to get this on to the statute books.
But already, there is a ‘lot of good news’.
‘Two-thirds of youngsters do five hours or more [of culture] each week. We are not starting from a position of despair.’ However, ‘there is a hard core of people who are doing nothing at all.’
The pilot schemes have started to make in-roads. Many of those around the table point to working with large-scale cultural organisations, including the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
In one instance, the company worked with children in care and in schools with ‘huge levels of deprivation’ – and delivered great success.
Another project focused on those not in education, employment or training (Neets) and on vulnerable and looked-after children. A group of 20 young boys trained in break-dancing. The project has led to a complete turnaround in confidence for a few of those boys – with some even coming back to ask for references to go to study dance at college.
Around this table, the idea of using culture as a means of raising life expectations and attainment – both for communities and for individuals – is commonplace.
One of the debaters explains how their organisation shifted from one where the staff were very much focused on their own silo departments, to one where the employees cluster around a project instead. Culture has helped break down silos and focus the staff. ‘And that has been a massive step forward.’
Culture has been used in this authority to pull people together to work on regeneration and to improve outcomes. ‘It’s not just about transforming learning. We have been working with the local community on this, and across a range of partnerships, so it is not just run as a local authority project.’
The council is now using culture and creativity to consider how it works with Building Schools for the Future to make schools community and cultural hubs for the 21st century, as well as the learning establishments they have always been.
With a general election looming on the horizon, the inevitable question of politics arises. What will the vote mean for cultural services and education policy?
The feeling is that, whichever party wins the election, there is a direction of giving schools more authority – whether that be academy schools or the Swedish model schools the Conservatives are now talking about. Both parties also seem to be emphasising the localist agenda – and that applies to culture too.
Despite the set of national criteria laid down, that doesn’t mean a lack of localism. It is understood – and, indeed, encouraged – that this will look different in different areas, due to the varied cultural heritage in different localities.
But schools face a difficulty of fulfilling their statutory duties, and culture is seen as an extra. Local authorities are more concerned with ensuring schools are improving than undertaking cultural programmes.
‘It comes down, sometimes, to funding,’ as one debater states. While culture does represent ‘very good value for money’, and it ‘has a benefit’ and schools accept the benefit, there is a fear that, if funding gets tight, this is not something schools will want to continue to fund. As someone chips in: ‘Everyone loved music services, until they had to pay for them.’
The idea is that this needs to be an entitlement, rather than an added extra. The difficulty with being an extra is that it will be in danger of losing funding if it is not seen as being essential.
There also needs to be the understanding at a local level. One of our delegates has seen the number of local authority advisers fall over the years. They are not just brokers but ‘real experts’, but she is now ‘one of a dying breed’.
As one expert points out: ‘We are still at a stage where people need to be charged with making this work.
It needs some nurturing to be much more mainstream.’ There is also a need for ‘someone central who understands schools and has the confidence to negotiate with the big cultural organisations’.
Education and culture ministers are keen to make this work – but this is something which should be handled at a local level. The Department for Culture Media and Sport, in particular, has very little spending capacity as a government department, but has a big influence.
As one debater concludes: ‘The interesting dilemma for ministers is about how much they want to push themselves into the foreground.’
The Panel:
Anne Bamford is Director of the Engine Room, University of the Arts London
Charles Barnard, head of Early Years, Ealing LBC
Karen Brock, head of THAMES, Tower Hamlets LBC
Roy Clare CBE, chief executive, Museums Libraries & Archives Council
Alan Clarke, civil servant, DCSF
Paul Collard, chief executive, CCE
Althea Efunshile, chief operating offi cer, Arts Council England
Clive Jones, head of regeneration & housing, Telford Council
Briony Lodge, civil servant, DCMS
Paul Roberts, managing director of IDeA/CCE Trustee, IDeA
Jan Roman, director, Black Country Children Services Improvement Partnership (BCCSIP),
Black Country
Ged Rowney, director of children and young people’s services, Stoke City Council
Virginia Tandy, director of culture, Manchester City Council
Helen Watson, executive director, children and young people, South Tyneside MBC
Michael Burton, editor, The MJ
Heather Jameson, deputy editor, The MJ
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