Children's music and arts initiatives receive £109 million boost

30 January 2015

Children's music and arts initiatives receive £109 million boost

A range of projects that support children’s music, filmmaking, dance and local-heritage activities are to receive funding worth more than £109 million in the 2015 to 2016 financial year, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Culture Secretary Sajid Javid announced this week. Read more

Lessons from the past

Deborah Bull explains what the cultural enquiry into arts policy and young people learnt by looking back over the last 60 years. Read more

BBC Get Creative: What’s the future of education?

Get Creative is a new, public-facing, year long campaign led by the BBC together with many other partners. It aims to raise the profile of arts, culture and creativity, to highlight their central place in all our lives and to celebrate where they happen all over the nation. Read more

NYA launches £1m youth employability fund

The Employability Support Programme, launched in partnership with Barclays, will provide "booster" support to existing youth work schemes for 14- to 25-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet). Read more

High-quality and more rigorous arts-based GCSEs and A levels

Final content for more rigorous and demanding GCSEs in music, art and design, dance and physical education (PE), and A levels in dance, music and PE, has been published this week as part of a commitment to raise the quality of arts education. Read more

'No evidence academies improve children's outcomes' - MPs

In its Academies and Free Schools inquiry report, the education select committee warns that limited evidence on the impact of academies means it is unable to draw firm conclusions on whether they are a “positive force for change”. Read more

GCSE gap between rich and poor widens

One in three disadvantaged students achieved five good GCSE passes, compared with more than 60% of their better-off peers. Read more

Boris Johnson: ‘Cultural regeneration of the Olympic Park will be good for the whole country’

Boris Johnson has defended the government’s £141 million funding of the cultural regeneration of the Olympic Park, claiming that the investment in the east London site is “a very good idea for the entire country”. Read more

The Close Brothers National Schools Art Competition

Primary and SEN primary schools across the UK are invited to take to take part in this exciting new art competition. It will run from November 2014 to March 2015. Read more

Ten Pieces Prom

Ten Pieces will culminate in a celebration of children's creative responses to ten pieces of music in two BBC Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The two concerts will take place over the opening weekend of the 2015 BBC Proms. Read more

Grand Union Youth orchestra and East London Capoeira free taster session

Dust off your instruments this half term and learn the rhythms & melodies of Afro-Brazilian music to accompany the energetic street dance style, capoeira. The day-long workshop will culminate in a dance demonstration from the East London Capoeira practitioners and a musical performance by participants. Great opportunity for any 13-18 year olds wishing to further their musical skills. For more information, download the flyer below.

Download GUYO & East London Capoeira free taster session

London Festival of Education

The Festival programme includes something for everyone with an interest in education. Full details of the programme will come soon. In the meantime, go here for more information

Taking on a paid intern to help with fundraising

Disability-led arts organisation Shape works to improve access to the arts. They used the Creative Employment Programme to take on a paid intern in their Fundraising and Development Department. The intern has since secured a full-time role in the team. Read more