As part of a broader piece of A New Direction research on Early Years, arts, culture and creativity in London, we commissioned the creative teaching and training network Earlyarts to produce a summary of high-quality resources available to support the cultural education workforce with advocating for the importance of their work with early years.
Engaging in high-quality arts and cultural activities in early childhood has a significant impact on a child’s creative, cognitive and social development. We know from existing research that taking part in arts and cultural activities at a very young age can positively impact a child’s subsequent artistic abilities. It has also been shown to aid cognitive development by stimulating discovery, exploration and experimentation across a wide range of learning areas including language, literacy and numeracy. The list of resources signpost to this evidence base and are specifically suitable for arts and cultural professionals to adapt and use in their communications.
The resources were selected based on a range of criteria, including:
- Advocacy underpinned by early childhood research, and specific to the early learning domain (older age-group arts education advocacy resources are shown separately).
- Reflects established theories of early childhood development, early brain development, appropriate practice, and appropriate learning environments.
- Balance of practical as well as theoretical to ensure broad as well as deep understanding.
- Selection of best practice approaches from the international community.
- Applicable across different art forms or cultural practices.
