This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cash to encourage culture
20/03/2007
A £5.8 million financial package to encourage more young people to have lifelong engagement with the arts was unveiled today.
Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson announced the additional funding for the Cultural Co-ordinators in Schools programme over the next two years as she visited Eastriggs Primary School in Dumfries and Galloway.
The programme, managed by the Scottish Arts Council, gives children the chance to take part in a wide range of cultural activities, including the performing and creative arts, literature, heritage, film and architecture.
Dedicated teams across Scotland work with schools to stimulate young people's interest through attending performances and exhibitions, as well by encouraging them to create their own work.
Ms Ferguson commented:
"This increased level of funding is in recognition of the positive role culture and the arts can make in the education and development of school children.
"Early exposure to arts and culture can have a hugely inspirational effect on young people. It's crucial that school children are introduced to a wide range of cultural experiences from an early age, to help fire their imaginations and instil them with a love for the arts which will stay with them for the rest of their lives."
Joan Parr, Head of Education at the SAC, said:
"For many of us the most memorable times from our school years are those where we engaged in cultural events - the visit to the museum, the time that a theatre company came to the school hall, performing in a school show, playing in the school orchestra or the trip to discover local history.
"Cultural co-ordinators provide the crucial links between the schools and the best quality professional arts and cultural experiences that Scotland has to offer."
The £5.8 million will be drawn from theExecutive's Cultural Review budget of £20 million. The cash is in addition to core annual funding of £750,000 and will enable the programme, which was launched in 2002, to develop over the next two years.
2. The Cultural Co-ordinators in Scottish Schools (CCiSS)
Programme was established through the Scottish Executive's National Cultural Strategy, published in 2000. The Cultural Co-ordinator team managers will be responsible for having an input into the Community Planning process that will follow from the Culture Bill.
3. The programme is closely linked to the Scottish Arts Council's
Creative Links (CL) programme (formed in 1996). There are currently 86 Cultural Co-ordinators in post and 24 CL Posts across all 32 local authorities as well as CLs in four national bodies (Young Scot, YouthLink, Children in Scotland, Scottish Adult Learning Partnership).
4. The aims of the Cultural Co-ordinators programme include:
* Increase and enhance participation in a wide range of cultural activities
* Help contribute towards enhanced levels of achievement in Scottish Schools
* Enhance perceptions of the value of the arts and culture in the school system
* Enhance approaches to creativity across the curriculum
* Help develop a new area of professional capability at the culture/education interface
* Develop and deliver the "escalator model" in collaboration with other national programmes
* Play a key role in the development of local cultural entitlements
5. The Co-ordinators remit will focus on coordination of events/visits/cultural opportunities rather than personally delivering cultural experiences. They will work within an agreed local strategic framework for culture and education led by the CLs. Their job remit will include:
* encouraging cultural participation through a wide variety of projects, visits productions and performances
* liaising with artists and cultural organisations at both local and national levels
* liaising with schools
* developing local authority and school awareness of the potential contribution of culture to young peoples learning and development