Cultural Education Partnership Group statement

From Arts Council England (www.artscouncil.org.uk):

The Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, the BFI (British Film Institute) and English Heritage are very pleased that Darren Henley’s review recognises cultural education as a central aspect of all children and young people’s lives. The commissioning of the review by the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport shows a strong and welcome commitment from Government to cultural education.

We are looking forward to greater collaboration between the Lottery distributors and Non-Departmental Public Bodies involved in cultural education and to working closely together as the new Cultural Education Partnership Group. We will explore ways in which we can pilot our joint approach and deliver a shared vision of a rich cultural education. We recognise the benefits of coordinating our cultural education work, and will explore how we can ensure that our investment achieves the high level ambitions for children and young people’s cultural opportunities, regardless of their background, that Government sets out in its response to Henley’s review.

We share the ambition of Darren Henley’s Cultural Education Review and believe that investment in cultural education for our children and young people will help to drive forward the creative and cultural industries and the wider economy, and will benefit society as a whole in developing an understanding of our common cultural heritage.

Chris