1. ASCEL Conference 2016 Cultural Education Partnerships & Libraries
Pepita Hanna: Associate Director
Arts Connect on behalf of the Bridge organisations

3. Cultural Education Challenge
What are Cultural Education Partnerships (CEPs)?
How are CEPs being developed locally?
Examples of libraries engagement
Future – CEPs and Libraries

4. Cultural Education Challenge

5. The Cultural Education Challenge
A cross Government challenge, led by Arts Council England, launched October 2015
Informed by the Henley Review (2012) and Warwick Commission (2015) that exposed the extent and nature of inequality for children and young people in arts and culture
Responding to changes in shape and size of public service delivery

6. What is the Cultural Education Challenge?
A call for schools, arts, cultural and heritage organisations, libraries, Music Education Hubs, LAs, FE & HE, artists and the voluntary and community sectors
To offer a consistent and high quality cultural education for all children and young people aged 0-19 years
To make best use of pressured resources and for sectors to work together to ensure that arts and cultural provision is strong both in and outside of schools
To address inconsistent access to great arts and culture, and address inequalities by focussing on 50 Cultural Education Partnerships in areas of most need

7. What is a Cultural Education Partnership (CEP)?
A cross – sector partnership or network based in a local authority area
Focussed on ‘place making’, and so locally directed
A means to achieve greater coherence, visibility, opportunity and to close the inequality gap
About improving high quality arts and culture for children and young people

8. What is a CEP?
Has young people’s interests at the centre of every discussion
An innovation and growth space
Built on the values of collaboration and shared resources
A strategic planning group that can use shared data to set priorities
Part of a new kind of national infrastructure

9. Collaboration should enable:
The generation of new possibilities
Better quality and capability
Stronger leaders at every level as a result of planned development and action
Best practice sharing that supports impact and outcomes
Moral purpose that becomes moral intent that becomes the collective responsibility of a larger workforce
(Sir David Carter, National Schools Commissioner)

10. We are learning that a CEP needs:
Mapping of local strengths, gaps and challenges
A vision for change with statements of ambition that makes sense locally
A clear set of priorities for action
Processes to make things happen
Some organisation and co-ordination

11. A CEP needs:
A Board / Steering group of local activists / architects from different sectors with credibility who can effect change
Leadership at all levels. “If we don’t, who will?”
Governance structures and accountability
Ongoing communications and engagement with those who contribute, do and benefit
Resources – use current differently or find different sources collectively

12. CEPs and Libraries - some Bridge examples
Festival Bridge – Young Fenland Cultural Consortium
Wisbeach Reads Network and Arts Alice in Libraries as part of YFCC identified:
Low literacy levels
Large transient Eastern European community
High levels of EAL
Families not engaging in school support services
Developed:
A 5-year vision with annual programme of school based and community festival of reading
G4A funding to extend activity in with support of Pop Up projects
A Wisbeach Reads community reading tree in the centre of the town
Arts Alive in Libraries uses libraries as arts venues and trains volunteers to run their community events

13. CEPs and Libraries - some Bridge examples
Cultural Consortium Shropshire
In conversation with
Annabel Gittins
Library Development Manager
Shropshire Council

14. Collective approaches
The future for CEPs
Collaboration
Collective approaches
Shared resources
Altruism and generosity
Optimism that things can improve
Making a difference for children and young people
A civic leadership challenge

15. The Future
Libraries are critical to the success of CEPs as key provider of arts and culture in local communities
Libraries Children’s and Young People’s Promise (2014); libraries can use the Promise to play a lead in developing a cultural offer for CEPs
Enablers of active communities leading CEPs on a family engagement approach to improving access and quality

16. Thank you