National Networks and Professional Development

For national and networks and organisations offering professional development opportunities for a specific cultural form, or for working with young children, you can browse the menu on the right-hand side.

Action for Children's Arts
Action for Children’s Arts is a membership network which was founded in 1998 to champion, celebrate, connect and campaign for arts for children 0-12.

Artsplan and ENYAN are helpful services provided by the national youth arts development agency, Artswork (www.artswork.org.uk) for anyone working with children and young people:

Artsplan has been developed to help professionals, volunteers and artists use the arts with socially excluded young people more confidently and effectively. Artsplan has developed a mix of training and publications to share ideas and good practice; training is delivered across the UK either through its open access programme, or for specific organisations. Artsplan is a national continuing professional development and training programme managed by Artswork.

English National Youth Arts Network (ENYAN) is a networked membership body designed to create connections throughout the diverse youth arts sector at national, regional and grass roots levels. It aims to raise the profile of and support for youth arts within England, and by doing so to create more opportunities for the creative and personal development of young people, especially young people at risk.  ENYAN is a major programme of work delivered by Artswork.

The Princes Foundation for Children and the Arts
The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts champions the power of the arts to transform the lives of disadvantaged children throughout the UK. The Foundation creates long-term partnerships between arts organisations and their local schools and enables children to visit their local cultural venue and work with professional artists over a sustained period.

The Foundation also provides specialist training to empower teachers to bring the inspirational world of the arts into the classroom