10 key facts you need to know about the creative & cultural education

4 February 2013

Experience has taught me that there is a precious window of time between concluding a piece of research on a topic and getting into the heart of another one when your mind is particularly alert, sensitive to insight and creative in drawing conclusions.

Right now, I am enjoying the feeling of marveling at facts and figures while my mind is still fresh and inquisitive as it is 'mapping the territory' of the cultural and education sectors.

Below is a collection of facts, findings and insights that have caught my attention, some perhaps more surprising, others more predictable.

As heads of learning at cultural organisations, creative practitioners, students of creative subjects, headteachers, arts teachers, some of these will resonate with you, others won't and many probably spark more questions than they can answer. Whatever your reaction is, hopefully these will be a starting point for new connections, new insights and new conversations.

1. The creative sector's contribution to the economy is remarkable

In 2011 CCSkills counted 66,910 businesses working in the creative and cultural sector in the UK. A mixture of commercial entities, non-profits, publicly funded organisations and social enterprises these businesses contribute a total of £28bn.

Design, Cultural Heritage and Music represent the lion share of this contribution. The industry is also extremely productive, more so than the rest of the economy– in 2011 it was estimated to be contributing £35,300 per head compared to £31,000 of the economy as a whole. More than 40% of those working in the industry are from London and the South East, making these two regions key hubs for creative businesses. Most of those working in the industry are self employed, work part time and more than twice as likely to have a second job.

2. There is an oversupply of graduates in the creative sector

In 2010, 55% of the labour force in the creative sector was educated to degree level, 19% more than the national average for other sectors.

Interestingly, this does not necessarily respond to employers' demand for whom work experience tends to be a deciding factor when recruiting rather than qualification level. As CCSkills argues, the result of this is a pool of overqualified individuals who, however, often lack the specific technical and professional skills than the vast majority of jobs in the sector require. This, in turn, is at the root of the rapid growth of unpaid work experience in the sector which, although actively counteracted by some cultural organisations, continues to pose issues around access and diversity of the workforce in the industry.

3. Music, painting and drawing are the three areas that young people most associate with the arts

The definition of art is vast, potentially hard to pin down and even subject to debate. A study carried out by the Arts Council of Wales among young people aged 11 to 16 in 2005 suggests that 'Music' and visual arts (particularly painting and drawing) are the most common spontaneous associations with the concept of the arts among this group, with around 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 young people mentioning them respectively; performing arts (drama/acting, singing, dancing) follow closely while fewer top of mind mentions relate to design, poetry, craft and photography.

The same study also shows that, when probed, young people's ability to articulate what the arts goes far beyond simple associations. Art is something creative and/or expressive, which often includes an element of performance; something which requires a level of skill or talent and needs a degree of involvement, effort and willingness to learn.

4. Young Londoners are more likely to have visited a museum than their peers in other regions but no more likely to have taken part in the arts or visited a heritage site

If the definition of art is vast, perhaps the definition of culture is even more so.

As an organisation that works to connect young people with the best that the cultural sector has to offer, our brief goes beyond the arts, embracing museums, libraries, archives, places of worship, heritage sites, the film and creative industries.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is as much differentiation in young people's take up of different cultural opportunities as there is among strands of the cultural offer.

'Cultural' is short hand and it's easy to forget that it contains as many differences as it seeks to conceal. Despite the richness of London's offer of creative opportunities, a young person living in London is just as likely to have taken part in the arts, either as an active participant or as a passive spectator, as their peers in the rest of the UK (62% of young people nationally).

Active participation in the arts (such as for example through playing a musical instrument or performing in a play) is slightly higher for young people in London than in other parts of the country (56%) but passive participation such as attending an arts exhibition or a live performance still falls behind other regions such as the South East or the South West.

Similarly, young people in London are no more likely to have visited a heritage site in the past year compared to young people in other parts of the country. When we look at museums and galleries however, the picture is different. Around 49% of young people in London have made a visit to a museum or gallery over the past year compared to 38% of young people nationally. Therefore even looking at basic participation figures suggests that the picture of young people's engagement with the cultural sector is complex.

5. Two in five schools in London don't believe pupils' parents involve their children in cultural activities

Access to cultural opportunities is often more complex than availability of opportunities alone.

A number of studies found evidence that children whose parents are highly engaged with the arts and culture are more likely to have access to cultural opportunities and to engage with them both as children and as adults.

Barriers also widely – lack of time is a key barrier for wealthy parents, while affordability is key for parents of more limited means.

Our London Schools Research tells us that nearly two in five schools don't believe that pupil's families involve their children in a wide range of cultural activities. This is a reminder of the key role that schools play in being a gateway to young people's present and future engagement with arts and cultural opportunities and ensuring equality of access, particularly in a reality that is as diverse as London.

It also suggests that perhaps one of the most sustainable ways in which schools in London can turn pupil's exposure into sustained engagement is by working with parents as much as with children.

6. Schools that are actively engaging with London's cultural offer exist across the board

Around one in three schools in London see themselves as having a strong offer in terms of creative and cultural opportunities for their pupils and as being confident in commissioning cultural organisations to deliver activities.

Interestingly, these 'cultural commissioners' (as we have named them within a wider segmentation of schools based on our London Schools Research) are represented across the board, in all types of schools, in inner/outer London alike and at all levels of disadvantage.

The fact that pinnacles of success in terms of provision can be found regardless of other factors is hugely encouraging and suggests that some schools in London are already doing a lot to enhance pupil's chances of exposure and access to creative and cultural activities.

7. Artsmark is well known among schools

The vast majority of schools in London (89%) have heard of Artsmark, an awareness level that in market research would be considered that of a household name. Borrowing a simple principle from branding theory, one could argue that this is an important finding as, although awareness may not imply take up of the programme, it is certainly the first step towards it.

8. Few schools see cultural providers as proactive in building relationships

Although the extent to which schools commission cultural organisations to work with their pupils varies, the vast majority (71%) do; however a much smaller proportion (37%) report that cultural organisations regularly initiate engagement with them. There may be a number of reasons for this.

Findings from our 'Conversations with Arts Organisations', for instance, suggest that although many organisations are keen to explore partnerships they often find communicating and marketing themselves to schools challenging. Whatever the barriers may be on either side, it feels like more can be done to ensure that schools' demand for engagement with cultural providers is proactively matched.

9. Relevance to the curriculum is the strongest driver to schools' engagement with the cultural opportunities

The biggest factor impacting on schools' decision to work with particular cultural organisations is ensuring that their offer is relevant to the curriculum, with 54% of schools citing this as a key motivating factor. Ultimately this is a reminder that, like in the case of any customer relationship, success for cultural organisations in engaging schools hinges on their ability to understand their needs around the curriculum and to tailor their offer accordingly.

10. Nearly half of secondary schools in the country are academies and growth shows no signs of slowing down

Perhaps understanding schools' needs in relation to the curriculum has never been as key as in current times where the schools landscape is changing rapidly.

There are currently 3,167 Academies (either open or in the pipeline) in the UK from just over 200 in 2010. Nearly half of all secondary schools in the country are now Academies.

The scale and speed of the deregulation are considerable and hard to ignore. New school models have freedoms that traditional state granted schools don't have – from setting their own governance structures to managing their budgets and, crucially, defining their own curriculum. It is hard to predict what a move towards diversification in schools' provision will bring about in the long term but it may well constitute an opportunity for cultural organisations and schools to explore new models of partnership and of working together.

Final Thoughts

While the above gives us a flavour of some of the current trends, we know that the picture of both the creative and education sectors is rapidly changing. Keeping an eye on how this change will pan out and what it will mean for the future of the sector is key. As we gear up to sketching A New Direction's research strategy for the months to come, I can't help but feeling excited about getting to the heart of some of these trends, discover new ones and, indeed, share them with all of you.