Art

Art

Culture enriches lives, and participation in creative and cultural activities can have a significant impact on young people, by developing their appreciation, their skills and helping them to learn.

This has been shown repeatedly in international studies, and has also been backed up by recent evaluations of major programmes such as Creative Partnerships and Museums’ Strategic Commissioning. What these evaluations have shown is that culture and the arts can help young people achieve all of the Every Child Matters outcomes.

Cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity.

As well as being valuable and enjoyable in its own right, participation in cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity, confidence, self-discipline, effective communication and the ability to work in teams. These skills are particularly important in a world of rapid technological and social change where the cultural and creative industries are increasingly important to our economic future.

That is why a commitment was made in the Children’s Plan to work towards a position where all children and young people — no matter where they live or what their background — have the chance to participate in at least five hours of high-quality culture per week, in and out of school. The Find Your Talent programme looks at different ways of offering young people a range of cultural experiences.

The aim is to give young people the chance to develop as:

  • informed spectators (through attending top quality theatre and dance performances, world class exhibitions, galleries, museums and heritage sites)
  • participants and creators (through learning a musical instrument, playing and singing in ensembles, taking part in theatre and dance performances, producing artwork, making films and media art, or curating an exhibition).

Arts and cultural activities are also an important stimulus to develop young people’s creativity. Learning Outside the Classroom activities which give children and young people the opportunity to work on real-life challenges; handle risk; develop their capacity to think imaginatively and creatively; define and explore complex problems; use and adapt multiple resources both within their community and beyond in order to experiment and devise solutions to these problems — all of these experiences nurture the mix of thinking, imagining, facing the unknown and making things happen which are the ingredients of creativity.

School Art and Design courses provide students with a wide range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to explore their artistic interests and design skills in ways that are personally relevant.

All schools aim to develop students’ ability to engage in practical ways with the processes of Art and Design. And at examination level all courses build on students’ innate creative skills through learning and doing in order to develop imaginative ways of working. They aim to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of media, materials and technologies in historical and contemporary contexts, societies and cultures.

The educational visits that can enhance the learning experiences outside the classroom obviously include art galleries and studios, but there are now many opportunities to have hands-on experiences in a variety of skills, including sculpture, wood carving, furniture making, weaving, jewelry making, and pottery.

The BBC offer a fabulous section of their website called Your Paintings. It boasts a superb schools section which grew out of a Your Painitings Masterpieces in Schools event that took place across the country. The event gave thousands of UK school children the opportunity to experience great art close-up when a masterpiece visited their schools for the day. To support the project the BBC have curated a host of online resources including: slideshows of paintings with ideas for use in the classroom; profiles of careers in the art world; and a guide to artistic styles and movements. These cover many areas of the curriculum including History, Music, Geography, English and Drama as well as Art.

 

Main organisations:

Arts Council

Engage

National Society for Education in Art and Design

National Foundation for Educational Research

Inclusion: NASEN, and the Royal Academy of Arts runs regular sensory workshops for SEN students.

 

Thought of visiting?

The National Gallery

National Portrait Gallery

Royal Academy of Arts

Tate Modern

The Tate, St Ives

Victoria and Albert Museum

Birmingham Art Gallery

Cardiff Art Gallery at the National Museum Cardiff

The Eden Project, Cornwall

Keith Harding’s World of Mechanical Music, Gloucester

Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mill, Derbyshire

Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville, Leicestershire

Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth

The National Stone Centre, Wirksworth

 

Articles about Art, Education and Trips on SchoolTripsAdvisor

Find out about the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition: Real Tudors: Kings & Queens Rediscovered

Read Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry's thoughts on Art Education, published recently in the TES.

 

For a complete list of venues and providers who deliver specialist courses and activities for this subject see below:

Venue Type: 
Art Gallery
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Compton Verney House is an 18th-century country mansion at Compton Verney near Kineton (between Stratford-upon-Avon and Banbury) which has been converted into the Compton Verney Art Gallery. 

Visitors of all ages are warmly welcomed to Warwickshire’s award-winning art gallery, housed in a Grade I listed mansion and surrounded by 120 acres of stunning 'Capability' Brown parkland.

Introduction to our collections

Compton Verney is home to six diverse collections of nationally and internationally significant art from around the world:

Venue Type: 
Factory Visits & Industry
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Join us in the historic Potteries: take a tour of our atmospheric Victorian factory, see our beautiful wares being made, then try your hand at decorating your own pot in our studio. Relax in the cafe, wander in the walled garden, then shop for factory seconds or delightful gifts.

Factory Tours

Discover the stories behind this eclectic home.
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
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It’s fair to say that Melford Hall has had its share of trials and tribulations, but it’s thanks to many generations from medieval monks to the Hyde Parker family who still live here, that this home still stands.

Around every corner there’s a new twist in the story – from Beatrix Potter sketches to collections of naval paintings and Chinese porcelain – everything tells a story and everyone has left their mark.

Superb Tudor House and Landscape Deer Park
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
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Charlecote has been home to the Lucy family since the 12th century. Their stories are told throughout the house with their portraits as well as through the objects they collected from around the world. See the design influence they had on the house and parkland. Step into the house today and you will see how Mary Elizabeth Lucy spared no expense furnishing it in Victorian times.

Venue Type: 
Museums
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Established in 1986, Newry and Mourne Museum aims to provide a dynamic and inclusive recreational and educational resource reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the local area. The Museum is located at Bagenal's Castle, an early example of a defended residence.

The castle was built in the 16th century in the environs of the site of a 12th century Cistercian abbey. Due to constant adaptation over the centuries, the building's exact location was concealed especially when purchased by Arthur McCann Ltd in 1894 and converted into a bakery.

Venue Type: 
Zoos / Wildlife Parks
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Kirkleatham Owl Centre is home to one of the U.K.'s largest collection of owls. Located in the historic and tranquil village of Kirkleatham in the grounds of Kirkleatham Old Hall (Grade 2 Listed Building). 

Venue Type: 
Parks and Gardens
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The name Parliament Piece is believed to relate to Henry III's parliament, which met in Kenilworth in 1266. There is, however, no evidence that the site was actually used by the parliament. The pond and other depressions are probably the remains of old marl or clay pits. Today, the grassland is managed as a traditional hay meadow with hay cut in late July and cattle grazing the aftermath for two or three months.

Species and Habitats

Habitats

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Situated just to the north of Liverpool, Crosby Beach is now the permanent home to ‘Another Place’, the sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist, Antony Gormley. The beach has been awarded the Quality Coast Award by Keep Britain Tidy. The QCA award tells visitors that the standards of beach management are of the highest quality in the UK.

Discovery, tranquillity and history - an ancient gem in the Dartmoor landscape
Venue Type: 
Historic Buildings & Monuments
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700-year-old home of Elizabethan seafarers Drake and Grenville.

​In the 13th century, Buckland Abbey was home to the Cistercian monks who built the abbey and the incredible Great Barn and farmed the then vast estate.

The Abbey, now a house with a combination of furnished rooms and interactive museum galleries, tells the story of how two seafaring adventurers - Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Francis Drake - changed the shape of the house and the fate of the country.

Venue Type: 
Religious Buildings
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Welcome to Exeter Cathedral, one of the great cathedrals of England, and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture anywhere. This is a very exciting time in the life of the Cathedral; a time of development and change as we work hard to improve facilities and the experience people have when they visit.

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