Review by Steve Cooke
Throughout my long career working with children and young people I have strongly promoted cultural education as a vital element In the development of well-rounded human beings. I am, along with many like-minded people, horrified at the demotion of the creative arts in the school curriculum and the concurrent starvation of funding. Access to Cultural Education and the Creative Arts has increasingly become extra-curricular and expensive.
All Across the Arts’ NHS funded Vibe Project has demonstrated over a decade how the creative arts can have a significant positive impact on the mental health of children and young people. [Impact Report and Film coming soon.]
It is, therefore, with much enthusiasm that i welcome the new Impact Report by Local Cultural Education Partnership Create Rochdale.
‘Cultural education gives young people opportunities to discover, create, learn and have fun together. There is evidence that participating in creative and heritage activities early in life, improves health and wellbeing, educational attainment and employability.’
It demonstrates how organisations in Rochdale are working together to improve access to high quality cultural education for children and young people across the borough. Their approach includes delivering professional development programmes, establishing new communication channels and taking a collaborative and strategic approach to programme planning.
The report also provides examples of how cultural activities are already improving the lives of local children. For example, 80% of children who participated in the Speech Bubbles programme delivered by M6 Theatre Company improved their speaking and listening skills. At Falinge Park High School, pupils’ confidence in speaking in front of others increased from 53% to 72% after a pilot programme of training and creative activities delivered by Skylight Circus Arts.
Organisations in Rochdale are also working together to support young people to navigate social challenges and contribute to creating safer, healthier and more sustainable communities: Touchstones Rochdale have been working with Rochdale Borough Council and other partners to deliver activities about environmental awareness and action to tackle climate change; Breaking Barriers have developed performances and workshops for schools about reducing violence against women and girls; and Rochdale’s Schools Linking project has been bringing together children from different schools and backgrounds to explore diversity and respect for their other.
Karen Lea, Chair of Create Rochdale said: “At Create Rochdale, we recognise the transformative power of cultural education in enriching the lives of children and young people, building the foundations for self-expression and opening doors to new opportunities. The incredible work delivered by our partners is making a lasting impact, bringing vital experiences to life and showcasing the richness of Rochdale’s creative community.”
Rochdale’s LCEP has developed over the past three years and has benefitted from funding from both Garfield Weston Foundation and the Cultural Development Fund (a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) fund administered by Arts Council England) and supported by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency.’
Read the full report at https://issuu.com/link4lifetrust/docs/final_impact_report_1_
See what young people have been up to at Vibe Rochdale at https://www.vibecreativity.com
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