Go to full news

"Whilst we know that the arts should not be exempt from the difficult decisions facing the country in this tough economic climate, it is disappointing that a programme which is expected to generate nearly £4 billion net positive benefit for the UK economy - the equivalent of £15.30 of economic benefits for every £1 of investment in the programme - is bearing the brunt of the cuts in funding. Since its launch in 2002, Creative Partnerships has had a positive impact on the attendance, aspirations and attainment of children and young people, particularly in schools with challenging circumstances.

"What is of greater concern however is the impact that this approach will have on young people growing up in this country today. What characterised Creative Partnerships and Find Your Talent was the way in which these programmes reached out across the country to provide opportunities for young people in some of the most disadvantaged communities. We know from research that the children of better off families will always benefit from a range of cultural opportunities that their parents provide. The children and young people we have worked with will have nowhere else to turn, particularly when the impact of cuts elsewhere filter down through local authorities and other programmes. As a result a whole generation of young people will grow up without having had access to the arts and this is not something that can be fixed once public finances are restored.

"Over the next few months, 2,000 schools currently engaged in the Creative Partnerships programme will continue with creative learning activities and projects so that the work already planned for the 2010/11 academic year can be completed. At CCE we will be working with our partners to ensure that the lessons learnt from the Creative Partnerships programme continue to influence policy and practice in the classroom and across the arts and cultural sector.

"CCE remains committed to supporting the delivery of high quality cultural programmes for young people and will continue to work closely with schools, arts organisations and local authorities who have been strong supporters of our programmes and who value the benefit they bring to their children and young people. We are also already working internationally where we are seen as world leaders in this field and where our expertise and experience in this area is much in demand."

Creativity, Culture and Education (www.creativitycultureeducation.org) is the national charity that manages Creative Partnerships, England’s flagship creative learning programme. Creative Partnerships fosters innovative long-term partnerships between schools and creative professionals, including artists, performers, architects, multimedia developers and scientists. These partnerships inspire young people, teachers and creative professionals to challenge how they work and experiment with new ideas.

Creative Partnerships has worked with over 1 million young people and engaged over 90,000 teachers in local projects. Research highlights include:

• Young people who have attended Creative Partnerships activities made, on average the equivalent of 2.5 grades better progress in GCSE (NFER)
• Creative Partnerships was shown to be associated with an educationally significant reduction in total absence rates in primary schools (NFER)
• Around 70% of the programme’s funding goes directly to the practitioners and over half of those working with Creative Partnerships have developed other work and employed other professionals as a result. Thus having a positive impact on the economy (Burns Owen Partnership)