Participation Works

Creative Services is a programme designed to help Arts Council England, London work more closely with local authority children’s services.

It's also designed to find ways of using the arts to meet their priorities for young people. You can download the publication from the Arts Council website. Find out more about Creating Services.

Arts Extend was a national pilot funded by Arts Council England in 2007 that took place in nine local authorities and involved over 60 schools. Development partners were ContinYou, Department for Children, Schools and Families, Teacher Development Agency and 4Children.

The nine programmes adopted different models of provision, including after-school clubs, weekend and holiday activities, and a two-day arts residential. All the activities were led by artists (for example, visual artists, musicians, dancers, film-makers and drama workers) and some took place in museums, galleries and arts centres. Some programmes were developed after creative consultations using different artforms to consult with children and young people in order to design and deliver a range of exciting services that would appeal to participants.

School Settings  

Creative Partnerships has been running for the last four years and is recognised by Ofsted as facilitating valuable learning experiences for all children using the arts and creative methods. Often, teachers working in partnership with artists and other creative practitioners can extend their practice, learn new skills and open up exciting pathways to engagement and learning through using creative methods.

Find out more from our Education topic area.