As the country welcomes in a new political era, leading representatives and policy thinkers from across the creative arts, education and local government have agreed a historic compact.
Following an intense day of panel sessions, workshops and keynote speeches at the Creative Education Summit, hosted by Birmingham City University’s prestigious Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), the group has devised a clear action plan intended to restore value to the UK’s creative education system.
Included in the compact are agreed actions to:
- Strengthen the links between Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Department for Education/Department for Health and Social Care and Home Office to determine how creative education can be the low cost/no cost state intervention to government and society’s big issues including mental health, isolation, disenfranchisement, substance abuse and crime reduction.
- Create a new vision and plan for Creative (Degree) Apprenticeships as an alternative route into the industry and higher education.
- Address equality, diversity and inclusion head-on and rethink the traditional portfolio as a standard admission criterion.
- Build a creatives ecosystem that is well connected and able to unearth best practice and expertise and disseminate for the whole of the UK to benefit. This ecosystem should also support the creative industries in terms of talent and skills gaps matching.
- Build an advocacy army to advocate for the creative arts/cultural industries and face down any idea that creative subjects are somehow inferior or ‘dumbed down’.
The compact builds on the creative education manifesto, which launched in Autumn 2023 and practically sets out ways in which the sector can unite and take back control of its own destiny. It includes recommendations for the new incoming government on how to fix the years of damage done and how to reap the rewards both financially and socially of one of the UK’s most valuable assets.
The compact has been drawn up to ensure creative education is recognised as a vital component in restoring the critical talent pipeline and continuing to grow one of our most lucrative economic sectors – particularly in cities like Birmingham and regions like the West Midlands as well as providing a right of access for everyone who could benefit from creative education.
Recommendations also include new routes into creative education and the cultural industries as outlined by Professor David Mba, Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham City University.
During the summit, Professor Mba made the case for creative degree apprenticeships, which offer tuition fee-free opportunities for aspiring creative talent to study for a degree in the creative arts whilst earning and gaining valuable work experience in the sector.
“The Creative Education Summit sets the roadmap towards creating a society that truly values the creatives and understands what creativity can bring to the nation. It is when we begin to truly influence opinion-formers and policymakers and look to hold the new Labour administration to account. It is up to us to make a difference, and we must make that difference now.”
Professor David Mba, Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham City University including the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
The summit coincided with the publication of GuildHE’s (in consort with UKADIA) “Value of Creative Graduates” report, which sets out the case powerfully for why we need to revalue our creative graduates for their huge but hidden role in delivering for our economy and society.
The report recommends practical steps for righting the many wrongs inherent in measuring graduate value as currently measured in official metrics, as well as correcting the devastation inflicted on our creative education system and cultural industries.
“The arts have been under immense pressure from the systematic devaluing of creative education. It is not just about young people losing out on learning an instrument or how to paint, but the loss of the exploration of creative expression impacts everything from the health and wellbeing of our society to the productivity of our businesses.
With a new government commitment to invest in creative skills to help boost our economy, we are pleased to partner in this Summit and publish our report in support of one of our collective missions to realign the perception of the value of creative graduates and demonstrate their significant economic and cultural value.”
Dr Kate Wicklow, Director of Policy & Strategy (Insight, Access and Student Experience), GuildHE
The Creative Education Summit and the development of this compact marks a critical moment in reversing the years of prejudice and misguided decision-making that has denied a generation of access to creative education funding and opportunity, and systematically destroyed the talent pipeline into the cultural industries.
”As creative educators we are committed to delivering new equitable narratives and developing actions to foster equity, diversity and inclusion through policy, practice and pedagogy.
The Creative Education Compact is a radical collaborative effort to connect around a common purpose, to share creative values across sectors and systems, to ensure widespread access to creative education and to break down barriers.‘‘
Sandra Booth, Director of Policy and External Relations, Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD)
“This group came together to address the decline of creative arts education in our schools, colleges and universities. Without decisive action from government, industry, and education creative education risks falling into the margins of the curriculum at the very time it is most needed. We believe that all learners deserve an excellent arts education. Our collective ambition is to secure equity of opportunity for all, a learner-centred, future-facing contemporary curriculum, supported by a valued, nurtured and diverse subject-specialist workforce.”
Michele Gregson, General Secretary/CEO, National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD)
“It has never been a more critical time for the education sector to come together across the school, FE and HE sectors to ensure a joined up and truly accessible creative education pathway for young people, from early years through to HE and beyond. With the current lack of equity, visibility and access to arts, cultural and creative education across the whole educational ecology, particularly for those from underrepresented backgrounds, the Creative Education Summit offers a moment of catalyst which has the potential to unleash the nation’s creative power and the next generation’s talent, skills and hope.”
Lucy Kennedy, Chief Executive, National Saturday Club
“As CEO of University Alliance, whose members include Birmingham City University and many others who offer valuable opportunities to study creative subjects, I am delighted to see passionate representatives from a range of sectors able come together and deliver a plan of action through the development of a Creative Education Compact.
The Compact not only sets out measures for the new government, but also outlines how we as sector representatives can take back control of creative education. Through this action we can ensure that generations to come can access high quality creative education as a basic right throughout their formative educational years.”
Vanessa Wilson, CEO University Alliance
