Children and young people

Why this goal?

The arts fuel children's curiosity and critical capacity. They are every child's birthright. It is vital that children engage with the arts early in their lives. The arts contribute to the development and well-being of children and young people. They inspire future audiences and the next generation of artists and arts leaders.

What will we do?

• we will advocate for a coherent and targeted approach to high-quality arts provision for children and young people, working with the Department of Education, funded organisations and artists, schools, cultural partners, local authorities and higher and further education institutions

• we will invest in the development of arts practice and programmes that are inspired by, and produced for, with and by children and young people

• we will champion high-quality opportunities for children and young people to enjoy the arts in and out of school

What will success look like?

• there is a coherent, national approach to the development of children and young people's engagement with the arts, in and out of school

• more children and young people have access to excellent art and are shaping their future arts provision as creators and critical consumers

• England becomes a world leader in artistic programming for children and young people

How will we achieve this?

• Bridge organisations

We will fund a network of 10 'bridge' organisations (as part of the National portfolio) that will use their experience and expertise to connect children and young people, schools and communities with art and culture. They will connect schools and communities with other National portfolio organisations and others in the cultural sector, including museums and libraries.

• Artsmark

Artsmark is the national programme that enables schools, further education colleges and youth justice settings to evaluate, celebrate and strengthen a quality arts offer. Artsmark supports formal education institutions to deliver rich and high quality provision.

• Arts Award

Arts Award is a national qualification that supports young people who want to deepen their engagement with the arts, helping them to develop as artists and arts leaders. It is open to 11-25-year-olds and managed by Trinity College London in association with Arts Council England. 

• Music education hubs

On behalf of the Department for Education, we are investing more than £171 million of funding between August 2012 and March 2015 in a network of music education hubs across England. We will identify hubs through an open application process.

Music education hubs will ensure that every child aged 5-18 has the opportunity to sing and learn a musical instrument, as well as perform as part of an ensemble or choir. It will also allow young people to take their talent further - this might be through local ensembles, partnerships with nationally funded music organisations, including National portfolio organisations or through involvement in the Music and Dance Scheme.

Music education hubs will build on existing music services. A music education hub will be a collection of organisations working in a local area, to create joined up music education provision for children and young people, both in and out of school.

• Quality framework

Together with the sector we will develop a set of principles to help us judge better the quality of the work being produced by, with and for children and young people.

We will launch a revised Artsmark scheme to increase the take-up of the award by schools and develop it for wider education settings including museums and libraries. We will consider how the scheme might be extended for National portfolio organisations. 

We will develop a 'kitemark' scheme for practitioners in collaboration with Creative and Cultural Skills, which will provide recognised  accreditation for artists working with children and young people.

The new Ofsted framework and cultural education

The new Ofsted inspection framework for 2012 will look at how well schools promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as part of their evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the school. 

Schools will need to provide positive experiences through planned and coherent opportunities in the curriculum and through interactions with teachers and other adults leading to a set of outcomes which are appropriate to the arts to varying degrees.