Break down barriers

However, the experts say there are low-cost opportunities for Government to deliver support which will improve children’s health and wellbeing through the ‘Opportunity Mission’.

Published by the Child of the North initiative, the report update shows:

• Creativity has been shown to break down barriers to opportunity for young people and their families, including addressing the widening ‘education gap’ for the UK’s most vulnerable children, but funding has been slashed to £1.80 per student per school.
• The value of the arts and creativity for supporting children with ill health, and the importance of including young people in the policy decisions that will shape their lives
• The arts and creativity are being neglected in discussions about eradicating child poverty and its consequences for health and wellbeing.
• There are low-cost opportunities for Government to deliver their promise to support all children and young people, no matter their background, as part of the ‘Opportunity Mission’.
  
  

The new report, Creating a Culture of Inclusive Opportunity: The Arts and Creativity Can Make a Difference is the twelfth update to be released as part of the Child of the North’s #ChildrenFirst campaign. The update includes a deep dive into supporting children and young people though arts and creativity and highlights the views of young people from the Great North Youth Forum, run by Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust, on the role of arts and creativity in fostering inclusion and wellbeing.

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Dr Emily Murphy, from Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics who led the report, said arts and creativity show benefits beyond education. 

She said: “We have shown how important creative expression is for child development, and the importance of embedding creative methods in our schools, our hospitals, and all places where children and young people spend their time. This is not an optional extra, it is a vital lifeline for many children. It offers millions of children the opportunity to communicate and express their ideas especially those growing up in disadvantage, including those living in poor health, with either long-term or complex health conditions. Government has the opportunity to address the education gap, by taking a cross-sector approach to supporting the wellbeing of these children. Their voices deserve to be heard.”

The campaign was launched at the National Opportunity Summit  in Leeds earlier this year, where Minister Josh MacAlister pledged his support towards building a country that works for all children on his first day as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for Education.

#ChildrenFirst builds on a major series of reports produced last year on key topics identified by Northern child health leaders as major issues of concern, including poverty, special educational needs, school attendance and mental health. The reports included evidence-based plans and recommendations for policymakers to help address these issues.

The #ChildrenFirst campaign also included the launch of toolkits designed to help schools, child health workers and local authorities take practical steps to improve the health and wellbeing issues faced by the children and young people in their care.

The toolkits have been published on a weekly basis over the 12 week period from September 12th alongside the re-released reports in the ‘A country that works for all children and young people’ series, which were produced jointly by Child of the North – a collaboration between the N8 Research Partnership and Health Equity North – and the Centre for Young Lives think tank.

The toolkits provide evidence and suggestions about how all parties can work together to build a country that works for all children and young people. The goal is to ensure alignment between practitioners on the ground and government’s work on the Opportunity Mission to make certain that every child has the best possible start in life.

Baroness Anne Longfield, Founder of the Centre for Young Lives, said: "Boosting children's opportunities to be creative can boost attainment, school attendance, and provide pathways into the creative industries. Widening access to creative activities in school and outside is so important to both our nation's economic and cultural prosperity, and to improving life chances for children and young people.

"I'm pleased the Government has taken up some of the proposals from Child of the North to increase funding through an Arts Premium Funding and expand children's entitlement to enrichment activities. At a time when our education system is looking at ways to improve children's wellbeing and to become more inclusive, a new focus on boosting creativity is more important than ever."

Each of the 12 reports is based on in-depth research carried out by academic experts in children and young people’s health and wellbeing from universities across the North of England and beyond, including N8 Research Partnership members Leeds, Manchester, Durham, York, Lancaster, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, the University of Bradford, and others. The policy recommendations made in the reports have helped to shape the Government's Opportunity Mission - the goal of which is to break down the link between a person’s background and their future success, and giving children the best start in life.

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, who edited the report series, said: “If we are serious about giving every child a fair chance and creating a productive workforce, then we must recognise that creativity is not a luxury for affluent pupils but an essential component of healthy development that needs to be available for all children. The evidence is clear: when we place arts and creative experiences at the heart of children’s lives, we open doors to learning, confidence, and wellbeing that might otherwise remain closed. Disadvantage is widening so it is imperative that we strengthen the opportunities that help young people. Investing in creativity is one of the best investments we can make to support a generation that deserves nothing less than our full commitment.”