Proposals developed through an education and arts cross-sector consultation led by the Cultural Learning Alliance
After the Department for Education (DfE) announced plans to create a National Centre for Arts and Music Education back in March – as part of a new package to support young people to access high-quality arts education and enrichment activities – the Cultural Learning Alliance took the initiative to convene the sector. We ran a series of four consensus workshops across England to shape an independent, sector-generated vision for what this Centre could and should be.
Our intention was to offer the DfE a framework created by and for the education and arts community, highlighting how the Centre might best support equitable access to a high-quality, arts-rich education for every child. This work was not commissioned or directed by the DfE; it reflects the voice and expertise of practitioners, leaders and organisations from across the country.
We have used this consensus process before to produce our Blueprint for an Arts-rich education and a Blueprint for an Arts Education Evidence Hub (in partnership with the RSC). We thank everyone who joined our workshops in Birmingham, Bradford, London and online during June and July, contributing to this shared vision.
We shared the resulting vision document with the DfE in August and are now making it publicly available. As we said back in March, CLA’s view is that the sector must come together around this new ambition and support the DfE as it develops plans for the Centre – which will succeed only if it is a collective endeavour built on ambition, leadership, equity, experience and expertise on behalf of all children and young people.
