Headline: Should artists working in schools be trained?

As the government announces that every child in schools should receive 5 hours a week of arts and cultural education, will we have enough artists trained and willing to participate in this programme?

The Engine Room at the University of the Arts London was commissioned to undertake a training programme for artists working in schools and to evaluate the impact on this on their work with schools.

A two-day creative professional (artist) pilot training programme was conducted in 2007 at Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts London. Participants also received a resource pack of readings and policy documents and follow-up interviews and discussions.

There were a total of 53 participants who came from four groups:

1. Creative Partnership (CP) artists with high levels of experience working in schools
2. Creative Partnership (CP) artists with moderate levels of experience working in schools
3. Creative Partnership (CP) artists with low levels of experience working in schools but high levels of interest to work in schools
4. Artists from another creative education programme based in schools (Creativity Matters) of all three experience levels, to act as a control against CP variables.

This pilot training programme brought together creative professionals, artists, cultural agencies, teachers, education professionals and research practitioners with the objective of developing and pilot testing a course of training that could be delivered economically to artists and creative professionals working in education.

The creative professionals were highly educated in their art forms, but could benefit from a higher level of development in education related fields. The results of the pilot project strongly support the importance of educational training for creative professionals working in partnership with education. Continuing professional development (CPD) courses for artist should be individualised and provide flexible pathways to learning in terms of both content and method. A combination of online and block module delivery patterns may be the most effective. These courses should provide free or low cost places for creative professionals working in Creative Partnerships and the option of formal accreditation should be available. While it is likely that the majority of artists would attend without any payment, the pilot project stressed that the artists felt “valued” because they were paid.

Key to the success of a Creative Partnership (CP) programme is a supportive teacher, enthusiastic school head, positive atmosphere in the school and willingness to be flexible and to take risks. Given the vital role teachers play in the success - or otherwise - of a programme it is strongly recommended that consideration be given to the development of training programmes for artists and teachers before the commencement of a CP in schools and at intervals during its implementation.

The creative professionals working in Creative Partnerships have many connections across the cultural and educational fields. Currently, this is an underutilized aspect and the ‘collective cultural capacity’ of artists should be more fully utilized in improving both arts and education. It is important that CPD provides opportunities for ongoing networking.

The creative professionals were child-centred in their approaches and gained immense satisfaction and enjoyment from changing the life and opportunity of children and young people. The artists spoke passionately about the value of working with children and the positive effect it had on their practice. The three main benefits of Creative Partnerships consistently noted were; improving children’s learning and experiences; improving schools; and, empowering people.

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