Local Cultural Education Partnerships
A New Direction supports Local Cultural Education Partnerships in London
Cultural Education Partnerships are cross-sector, strategic partnerships that work together to unite and improve cultural education for children and young people in their local area.
Every Cultural Education Partnership is different – they are locally driven, rooted in the specific challenges and opportunities for their place. However, what they all have in common is that they are cross-sector strategic groups working together to focus on the key issues for cultural education in their place and aiming to make a long-term and sustainable impact.
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Who is involved in Cultural Education Partnerships? And how can my organisation get involved?
Cultural Education Partnerships generally seek to have representation from relevant stakeholders in their place which may include: the local authority, cultural organisations, education settings (schools, Early Years settings, Further Education, Higher Education), Music Education Hubs and the youth sector. Some partnerships will also involve representatives from local employers, commercial creative industries and organisations with specialisms including health and planning where there might be an overlap in aims.
The exact structure of and stakeholders represented in each Cultural Education Partnership varies; both structure and representation are locally relevant and based on the cultural education landscape in each place.
If you are not currently involved in a Cultural Education Partnership but are interested in developing one, joining our Connected Network is a good starting point.
You can also find some examples of the different structures and approaches used by Cultural Education Partnerships in this report on the Cultural Education Partnership Pilot Study, and through resources in the Discover and Build section of our Powerful Partnerships Library.
If there is a specific Cultural Education Partnership you are interested in finding out more about, please get in touch.
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How can A New Direction support your Cultural Education Partnership?
A New Direction can offer support for Cultural Education Partnerships in a number of different ways. We’re keen to offer support that is right for your programme and situation, so please do get in touch with us to talk about how we might best be able to help.
We can offer the following to all Cultural Education Partnerships in London:
- 1:1 meetings with our team to discuss your ideas and ambitions
- Attendance by a member of the A New Direction team at your CEP meetings - to introduce, for example, the CEP concept, or share data and context. You can find examples of the data we hold in our Place Strategy
- Connected Network attendance: opportunities to meet others working within Cultural Education Partnerships and hear case studies about ‘place-based’ partnership work
- The Connected Lab: peer learning opportunities with a specific focus in local partnership working for cultural education
- An introduction to our Powerful Partnerships Resource Library: a collection of tools, resources and case studies we’ve found useful in this work, and that your partnership can use in its development
- Specific advice about how Artsmark can support your partnership’s ambitions and connections with schools
- Ideas for how Arts Award can support accreditation for young people involved with your work
A New Direction also support some Cultural Education Partnerships through Challenge London, our partnership investment programme.
If you are not currently involved in a Cultural Education Partnership but are interested in developing one, joining our Connected Network is a good starting point.
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Cultural Education Partnerships in London
A New Direction supports Cultural Education Partnerships across London. You can find out more about how we support Cultural Education Partnerships below.
In London, Cultural Education Partnerships often work at a borough level, although they can also focus on a smaller or larger geographical area. For example, some partnerships may operate in a specific ward within a borough or work across a number of boroughs.
There are currently emerging or established Cultural Education Partnerships in the following places:
- Barking and Dagenham
- Camden
- Croydon
- East London (Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering)
- Hammersmith & Fulham
- Haringey
- Newham
- Wandsworth
- Waltham Forest
Find out more about current CEPs
Please note: many of the partnerships are newly established, and we are working towards bringing you more information as their work develops.
If there is a specific Cultural Education Partnership you are interested in finding out more about, please get in touch.
There are also early conversations around Cultural Education Partnerships happening in:
- Bromley and Bexley
- Greenwich
- Islington
- Lewisham
If you are aware of other developing Cultural Education Partnerships in London that are not included in the list above, please do get in touch to let us know.
Cultural Education Partnerships are forming across England in response to the national, Arts Council driven Cultural Education Challenge. The Cultural Education Challenge calls for art and cultural organisations, educational institutions and local authorities to come together to drive a joined-up art and cultural offer locally, to share resources and bring about a more coherent and visible delivery of high-quality cultural education for all children and young people.
By 2020, the Arts Council aims to establish at least 50 Cultural Education Partnerships nationally, to improve the alignment of cultural education for young people, in places where this is most needed. They will be modelled on the three successful pilots of local Cultural Education Partnerships in Great Yarmouth, Bristol and Barking & Dagenham.
Interested in partnership working but unsure where to start?
Our Powerful Partnerships Library offers a step by step guide to establishing a successful partnership alongside a comprehensive list of helpful resources.
