Children & the Arts partnership with Arts Award

Arts Award is delighted to have partnered with  Children & the Arts to support the young people in schools and arts organisations they work with through their Start programme to achieve Arts Award.

Children & the Arts is a national charity which shares many of the same values that we do at Arts Award – recognising the importance of arts education for academic success as well as general well-being and broadening opportunities and horizons for all children. Children & the Arts is committed to engaging with children and young people who do not have access to arts or cultural experiences as a result of their economic or social situation. They bring arts organisations and schools together to deliver a range of in-depth programmes to enrich children’s lives, and to help them be inspired by the arts.

Start Programme

One of these projects is Start, a three-year programme which works with arts organisations around the country to develop new relationships with some of their local schools. During the partnership, schools are given the opportunity to visit their local arts venue at least twice to see high quality arts performances and exhibitions, work with professional artists and take part in creative workshops in the venue and back in the classroom, developing their own artwork, performances or dance pieces. All of these activities map perfectly to many of the Arts Award levels!

Start and Arts Award

For the first time, selected arts organisations who are part of the 2016-19 Start programme will have Arts Award embedded as part of their offer for schools. Supported by three Arts Council England Bridge Organisations; Curious Minds, The Mighty Creatives and Artswork, arts organisations will be able to empower schools to see the value not only in engaging with their organisation, but also in allowing young people to gain a nationally recognised qualification at the same time. It is hoped that over 1,000 Arts Awards will be achieved across Discover, Explore, Bronze and Silver through these partnerships in 2016-17!

What’s even more exciting is that the diverse range of organisations involved in Start demonstrate just how flexible Arts Award can be – there are theatres, galleries, museums and more involved, all working with their local schools to embed an exciting arts offer and create positive outcomes for the young people involved. It is hoped that after the Start projects end, schools will have developed sustainable relationships with their local arts organisation, allowing them to continue to offer Arts Award beyond the life cycle of Start.

Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive, Children & the Arts, said:

"Arts Award increases Start's ability to change lives. Children now have a golden opportunity to deepen their understanding of the arts, to gain practical skills and critically to achieve a very valuable national qualification that will help them in life."

Arts Award Impact Study

We are thrilled that Children & the Arts are so committed to offering children the opportunity to achieve an Arts Award, regardless of their background. Our Impact Study showed that Arts Award helps young people to participate more in their local arts scene, build their confidence, support subject and career choice, and develop important transferable skills such as communication and organisation. We hope that all arts organisations, schools and young people involved in Start enjoy their arts experiences, and can’t wait to see the great Arts Award projects which will form part of this!