Memorandum submitted by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA Partnership)

 

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is the lead strategic agency for museums, libraries and archives in England. MLA is part of a wider MLA Partnership, working with 9 regional agencies to improve people's lives by building knowledge, supporting learning and inspiring creativity.

The Partnership acts collectively for the benefit of the sector and the public.

 

MLA is a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

 

The MLA Partnership welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Inquiry into Creative Partnerships

 

1 How should we define creativity in the context of education and child

care?

1.1 Creativity in this context can be defined as offering children and young

people opportunities to develop their imaginations and interests through

accessing stimulating and imaginative experiences that encourage

curiosity and exploration and prompt reflection and dialogue.

Museums, libraries and archives are skilled at supporting schools to

embed creative approaches across the curriculum. The sector is widely

used by families out of school, who appreciate the access to inspirational

resources and creative learning environments.

2 What effect have existing creative initiatives had on teachers' skills

and ability to work with creative professionals in the classroom

2.1 The Learning Links programme, funded by Strategic Commissioning,

placed 786 practising teachers in museums and archives between 2004 -2007. A further 2,423 teachers have engaged in further Continuous Professional Development activity. As a result of their placements, teachers have gained confidence and skills to use new resources in the classroom. 71% of the teachers who took part in Learning Links were new to working with museums and archives and 98% of them said that they would continue to use the resources on offer to support their teaching in the future.

These placement programmes:

· Provided teachers with a greater understanding of how they can embed museums, archives and their collections into their teaching

· Allowed museum and archive staff to understand the curriculum more fully

 

2.2 The Strategic Commissioning programme has also worked with ITT

students to embed the use of cultural and creative resources in

classroom teaching at the beginning of a teacher's career. Since 2006

regional agencies have worked with 750 ITT students. From 2007, MLA

will work with Creative Partnerships to manage a national programme

linking ITT providers and students to placements in cultural and creative

out of school settings.

MLA Yorkshire worked in partnership with York St John University to place

an entire year group of trainee students in paired placements in settings

other than schools. Museum and archive staff were trained as accredited

mentors and the programme was so successful it has been embedded

within the university degree course.

 

3 What are the implications of a curriculum shift in favour of creativity

for the training of heads, teachers and cultural animators?

3.1 The welcome reform of the curriculum which embraces creativity

in all schemes of work should be accompanied by new partnerships

between schools and the cultural sector if heads and teachers are to

develop the skills and confidence needed to support a personalised

approach.

A key finding from the evaluation report 'What did you learn at the

Museum Today' which examined the first museum learning programme

funded by Renaissance in the Regions was that although teachers

recognised the enormous contribution of museum learning programmes

on children's outcomes and behaviour, they felt unable to replicate this

creative approach without the support of a museum educator.

The Strategic Commissioning programme is supporting the embedding of

creativity within the curriculum by building the confidence of trainee

teachers to develop their creative practice. The programme is also

supporting reciprocal placements of cultural practitioners into schools to

break down barriers and support partnership working.

 

To support secondary curriculum reform a clear ladder of progression

should be developed within teacher's CPD to reinforce the importance

of creativity in establishing a broad and balanced curriculum, and to

embed this approach at the start of a teacher's career.

3.2 Renaissance in the Regions has increased the capacity of regional

museums to support learning. A national museum survey carried out in

2006 found that 77% of museums have facilities used solely or primarily

for educational purposes and 53% have an education room. This

compares to 36% with an education room in 1994. Renaissance funding

has supported the creation of 167 new learning posts in museums and a

further 69 museum outreach officers who take collections out of museums

into schools.

 

3.3 Partnerships between museums and teachers will support heads to

introduce creative learning approaches and build confidence in

developing cross-curricular learning. A museum survey in 2003 found

that only 4% of teachers used museums to support cross-curricular work

but this had jumped dramatically to 27% by 2005.

 

4 How might parents and education and care providers be persuaded

to encourage creativity in the home?

4.1. Museums, libraries and archives are skilled at working with

parents, carers and families. They have enormous expertise in engaging

parents , carers and children in creative and inspiring activities that

encourages them to learn together as a family, promotes inter-

generational dialogue and directly supports the development of enriched

homes.

Schools, including extended schools, should develop partnerships with

Museums, libraries and archives so that they can use the creative

resources on offer plus the reach into communities to engage parents

and care providers and support them to be more creative at home.

5 To what degree should creative education be structured to

accommodate the needs of creative industries?

5.1 There has been a rapid development of creative industries in this country

fuelled by the enormous creativity of our nation. Creative education should

offer all young people the opportunity to realise their creative potential and

should particularly ensure that BME and other under represented groups

in the creative industries are given this opportunity. The new creative and

media 14 - 19 diploma will provide opportunities for young people who

want to develop their creative skills. Museums, libraries and archives wish

to support this development but the sector needs to be properly funded to

deliver creative education.

 

6 What evidence is there that a creative curriculum assists

achievement in other areas?

6.1 A creative curriculum allows for opportunities of self-expression,

the exploration of new ideas and enables children and young people

to develop an understanding of the world around them and their place

within it.

Evidence from the 2005 'What did you learn at the museum today?'

research demonstrated that after participating in creative activity in

the museum, 95% of teachers thought pupils would be inspired to

learn more. 92% of teachers anticipated an interest in thinking skills,

and 87% expected an improvement in communication skills.

 

6.2 Teachers were also explicit about the causal link between

enjoyment of the creative experience and learning

"Enjoyment opens children up to learning"

Teachers reported that students' attainment levels were higher than

other groups following their experience of a museum learning programme.

 

7 What is the impact of a creative curriculum on a) pupils confidence,

motivation, behaviour and team work and b) pupils literacy,

numeracy, ICT and communications skills?

7.1 The Magpie project delivered through museums and schools in the North West

showed a link between creative activity and improvement in pupil literacy with a

higher level of improvement for boys and younger pupils. Teachers reported

qualitative improvements in many aspects of writing, though the impact on

grammar and punctuation appears to have been less marked. In addition, pupils

wrote at greater length and with greater enjoyment. Progress in writing was

measured by longitudinal teacher assessment for 201 pupils at baseline, mid-

and end-point and for 176 pupils through voluntary SATs.

 

8 How can creative achievement among young people be

acknowledged and assessed?

8.1 By building creative portfolios which record and acknowledge young

people's creative work. The ACE/ MLA Cultural Hubs programme has

supported young people to plan and deliver creative activities in

partnership with creative practitioners and with their schools.

8.2 By extending the Arts Award to other cultural organisations and linking it

to the 14-19 Creative and Media Diploma.

8.3 By embedding creativity within the Self Evaluation Forms and OFSTED

school inspections

8.4 By working with QCA on the methodology for assessing creativity in the

new assessment framework. The Generic Learning Outcomes

(GLOs) and Inspiring Learning for All framework can support this work by

aligning the GLOs to the new curriculum's wider accountable measures.

 

9 How can creativity be embedded across the curriculum and within

the philosophy of schools?

9.1 By using the evidence from creative placement schemes already in place

to demonstrate that creativity supports learning.

9.2 By working with Head Teachers and ensuring that creativity is embedded

within the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

10 How can creativity in schools best be linked to the real world of

work and leisure?

10.1 Work experience placements within creative environments should

be developed and promoted to schools.

A pilot programme supporting creative work experiences is

currently underway in Herefordshire, as part of MLA West Midlands

creative learning strand of strategic commissioning. The

programme has placed work experience students in museums to

work alongside creative practitioners. The placements are

developing the students understanding of employment in the

creative industries as well as their confidence in their own creative

potential and how this can be inspired by cultural environments.

10.2 Career advice and progression routes for young people in the

creative and cultural industries should be promoted through

school career programmes. These can be developed alongside

partners such as Connections and Aimhigher to ensure that young

people have access to the progression routes into these sectors

and information is made available through existing career support.

 

July 2007