Arts Education and Trusts and Foundations: Q&A with Kate Bellamy
In recent months, the government has renewed its focus on arts education and youth policy. With trusts and foundations identified as key partners in strengthening cultural learning, we spoke to Kate Bellamy, Director of the Clore Duffield Foundation, about their range of initiatives to enrich and support access to cultural learning across the UK.
Clore Leadership: Kate, it’s great to talk to you at what feels like an important moment for cultural education nationwide. What are your current reflections on this moment in the context of the work you do at Clore Duffield Foundation?
Kate Bellamy: First and foremost, we’re very happy to see the government taking this area of work seriously. We’re glad that arts education has risen back up the agenda and that the Department for Education (DfE) is listening to those working on the ground. At both our Arts in Schools Summit and recent roundtable with Georgia Gould MP, ministers have engaged really positively with arts leaders and education leaders, who have made compelling cases about the need, importance and the power of arts education; that it’s not just a soft alternative, but a necessary part of everybody’s learning. I’m really glad to see that change is already in the works as a result of the curriculum review.
CL: What would you like to see happen in terms of practical change in response to policy change?
KB: Most importantly, we need to understand what difference all of these changes will actually make to delivery in schools. When they have so many competing priorities, they have been dissuaded from foregrounding the arts for so many years, and there is limited funding. We know that it’s challenging to recruit arts and music teachers because there just haven’t been enough trained up in recent years, which is a full-circle arts education talent pipeline issue.
CL: The Hodge Review identifies the role of trusts and foundations as a key collaborator with both DfE and DCMS to support improvements to the cultural offer in schools. What are your reflections on this, and how do you see the role developing?
KB: The trusts and foundations that are active in this space have been achieving good things, so I’m glad to see a positive framing and recognition of the role of philanthropy in these recent publications. But I do worry if the government thinks that trusts and foundations are able to fill the funding gap here, because we don’t have the kind of money that would enable all children to receive the right level of arts education – curricular and extracurricular – that we think they deserve. Plus, funders tend to be reluctant to plug what they see as statutory funding gaps.
CL: Absolutely. And in the meantime, work on the ground continues. Can you share any insights into the work the Foundation is doing/planning in this area?
KB: We’re running a programme of support for school trips, working with schools in Blackpool and Cornwall, which has been hugely positive so far. We’re investing £1,000,000 per year and working with around 12 schools each year, but we can’t reach every school across the country. In terms of impact, we’re getting very encouraging feedback from the schools that are participating. For instance, with a secondary school in Blackpool, they’ve actually seen attendance rise in line with the programme. Teacher feedback shows why it’s worthwhile doing the school trips, giving children new experiences, and getting out of their usual environments. It’s improving pupil well-being, enjoyment of school and attendance.
CL: How long have you been working with those schools? Does the support model continue in some way after the initial engagement?
KB: We work with each cohort of schools over six months to develop their plans and preparedness for school trips, and then they deliver that programme over one academic year. With each primary school child, for example, going on at least six school trips and each secondary school child going on at least 3 school trips My colleague Cara, who runs the programme, has been brilliant at building networks and opportunities in those places. There’s momentum, need and demand, so we’ll do another year in Blackpool and Cornwall and then likely we’ll be looking for other places that we might deliver the programme.
CL: So the impact is tangible. Are you gathering evidence to make a case for wider investment in programmes like this?
KB: Absolutely – but it’s not just about the money. The cost of coach travel is a significant barrier for many schools, especially in rural areas, and that can be addressed financially. But we’ve learned that teacher confidence and experience in running school trips also needs to be built up. So, we’re providing teacher training to develop the specific skills and confidence needed to lead all kinds of school trips. We have also found that some parents are not comfortable with their children going on school trips, especially further afield. We hope this will improve as trips become the norm again, but we are working with schools to understand what other support is needed to ensure parents are supported and see the benefits.
CL: Outside of traditional education spaces, the Foundation is known for its investment in dedicated learning spaces within cultural venues and institutions. How have those spaces evolved and how do you envisage them developing in the future?
KB: The Clore Duffield Foundation has been supporting the creation of Clore Learning Spaces for over 20 years now. I’ve been in post for four and a half years, and there continues to be a really, really strong demand. We have extended the programme to libraries to make sure there are spaces close to everybody, wherever they live, to increase access to arts and cultural learning activities. We’ve also seen spaces become increasingly flexible and integrated within their venues – launch pads for exploring the collections, performances or wider site.
CL: How are the spaces evolving in terms of accessibility and digital access to venue-based cultural learning experiences?
KB: That’s another thing that has changed in recent years – improved digital facilities in these spaces, prompted in part by Covid and the need for online provision. For example, the National Archives has a brilliant programme using state-of-the-art equipment which allows them to broadcast to large numbers of schools, in a live and interactive way, dramatically increasing their reach.
CL: It seems there’s growing momentum for rolling out the initiative at a larger scale – is that something you’re focusing on in other strands of the Foundation’s work?
KB: Certainly – I also wanted to mention our work with Ark schools. They’re a big multi-Academy trust, and we have been working with them for the past three years to develop the Ark Culture programme across their schools in Hastings, Portsmouth and Birmingham in particular. It’s a good example of how you can achieve impact at scale within a group of schools. We support one post holder, a woman called Becky Martin, who’s doing fantastic work brokering partnerships for those schools with cultural organisations locally, regionally and nationally. For a modest investment, it’s inspiring what can be achieved if partnership working is at the heart of the activity.
CL: With long-term impact in mind, how can cultural leaders use this current spotlight on creative and cultural education as a springboard for positive change?
This is just the first step in the journey to the sort of change we want to see. We must all work together to keep the pressure on the government for the funding and to create the conditions to ensure that quality, regular arts education in schools is a reality, not just a possibility.
CL: Experimentation and innovation carries risk, which can be challenging to embrace when funding is increasingly scarce and ‘quick wins’ are more easily rewarded…
KB: Yes. But I think it’s about finding the right people and organisations with good energy and ideas to work with. Some risk is usually necessary if you are doing ground-breaking work. The outcomes might not all be what you originally intended, but you learn, evolve, capture and communicate the best practice, and there are moments of brilliance. Trusts and Foundations are often well placed to test new approaches, to support innovation and to help galvanise change.
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