Group Prompt: In 2030, the ‘Coventry Curriculum’ proposed during the City of Culture bidding process has been gradually rolled out across the city’s schools after a successful pilot. Supporting academic learning with a focus on creative skills, creative thinking, collaboration and team work, through a rich and nurturing curriculum of creative, visual, music and performing arts, special projects and extra-curricular activity, the ‘Coventry Curriculum’ has also proved effective in rebuilding young people’s social and emotional health to levels unseen since before the pandemic. The numbers of young people choosing to study creative and practical subjects at GCSE and A level has begun to climb steadily across the region, more arts teachers are being trained and employed, and every school now offers clear career pathways to creative jobs, in partnership with the sector locally.
Group facilitator: Dana Hall
Once individuals began to imagine and ’see’ what could be possible in 2030, ideas as to how we got there began to flow. They saw festivals, open and accessible shows/presentations/displays in numerous pockets and spaces in Coventry. Family members and neighbourhoods being made a part of the creative world. They saw places where creative skills could be accessed near to every area in the city. Artists embedded within schools, providing skills, enabling collaboration within subject areas, training staff. Once group members engaged and began to project hopes and dreams, they were more than able to construct a pathway to get there.
Key Ideas:
- Create more arts facilitators in schools, training teachers and others. Bring in more artist in residence opportunities. The presence should be long term, not a flash presence.
- Collective projects for students – work with presentation events that welcome neighbours, parents and others to create new links between people. These would give additional relevance and meaning to students’ work.
- Building confident artists. Creating confidence in students’ talents and who they are. Fostered by artists on site.
Transcript of post-its: from base of building (easy) to roof (harder/longer-term)
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- Deadlines to shows?
- Fostering a better sense of belonging – display areas, centres, the shared arts, all leisure, arts gym. Spaces – dedicated places/pockets/areas bringing people together to celebrate. Festivals, Celebrations, presentation open nights. Art Pockets dotted around city within 5 mins walk. Artist in residence multiplied. Regular classes in schools.
- Confident Teachers
- Re: film credits, creatives enable great attractive outcomes.
- Bringing the creatives arts towards holistic engagement
- Dedicated pockets of time given.
- What is the access available? How do we get the word out?
- Outdoor Museum
- Well paid artists positions in schools
- Empowering teachers – days out for students to become regular, not special
- Awkward preconceptions in adults can be a barrier to engaging
- Connection with an artist can break a barrier create a relaxed atmosphere
- Training teachers having artist rep to enable connection
- The arts is multi-disciplined. Teaching recognition of what is enjoyed
Parents and careers are key to engage with in order to learn
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- Confident artists, citizens, pride in themselves fully aware of their talent
- Students, individuals ‘knowing’ themselves being ‘aware’ of gifts/talents
- Greater exposure of artists!
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- Arts organisation being cohesive and organised.
- Connections making sense
- We don’t know what we have… (what’s on)
- Arts facilitators training the teachers. Career advisors giving better choices, wider pathways.
- Fast track art courses, evening courses, training centres.
- Careers fairs.
- Training teachers / working with teachers/ putting more creatives in school
- Within schools – flexible connectivity within the learning.
- Collective projects
- Presentations of work by students … thereby it has relevance
The Culture Works Collective 