Whare and when?

• Westminster Academy School, 255 Harrow Road, London, W2 5EZ (school is wheelchair accessible)            
• 9.30am to 4.00pm on Wednesday 20 February, 2013

What's the background to this event?

One of Arts Council England’s priorities is ‘raising the standard of work for, with and by children and young people’.  In other words, when it comes to children and young poeple, how do we support excellence and the very best work possible -  across dance, theatre, visual arts, music, literature, libraries, museums, and combined arts?  

Back in December 2011 Arts Council England held their first Quality Debate, attended by 200 participants at the CBSO in Birmingham.

Last summer Arts Council published a report by NFER and Shared Intelligence which looked at different approaches to quality in the arts, and in education and proposed a set of draft quality principles relating to children and young people:

1. Striving for excellence
2. Being authentic
3. Being exciting, inspiring and engaging
4. Ensuring a positive, child-centred experience
5. Actively involving children and young people
6. Providing a sense of personal progression
7. Developing a sense of ownership and belonging.

Then in November last year they funded a workshop designed by University of the First Age and the Sage Gateshead and led by young people in which teenagers (some involved in the arts and some not) generated new ideas for raising quality and responded in detail to our report on quality principles – a short film of the event is to be released imminently.

So what is happening on 20th February?

On 20 February in London, Arts Council England hope to bring together those with an interest in these issues once again. This event will begin with exploration of the quality principles and the ideas and concepts which underpin them.  It will then change gear into an afternoon of practitioner-led ‘open space’ discussions, defined by participants, to enable us to scope practical ideas for R&D projects and experiments which put the principles into practice.  

We hope participants will arrive having read about the work to date, and ready to work on the day. The findings and resources produced to-date will be shared in advance so the event can achieve practical and informed outcomes.

Who is this event aimed at?

It is aimed at poeple from Arts organisations, museums, libraries, schools and colleges, and others involved in arts and cultural activity relating to children and young people.

We have already invited a number of individuals who have been involved in this work to date, or who we think will want to contribute. But we are also making some places freely available here. If you have already been invited there is no need to register through Eventbrite. But if you have not already been offered a place, and do wish to attend then please register.

Event programme

9.00Arrivals and registration

9.30Welcome, purpose, and themes of the day

• Althea Efunshile, Chief Operating Officer, Arts Council England
• Smita Bora, headteacher of Westminster Academy

9.50How the conversation has developed:

• Linking the messages from Birmingham and the Sage, the online conversation, and stakeholder discussions
• Young people’s perspectives on the principles
  
• The quality principles and the evidence which underpins them

11.00Break

11.10Break out discussion 1 - Reactions to the principles – Do they fit our own experience? Will they help us? How might they be improved further?

11.45 Break out discussion 2 - Planning for the afternoon Open Space sessions

12.45Lunch

1.30Introduction to Open Space conferencing and pitching sessions for the afternoon

1.40Open Space session 1 (venue can accommodate at least 10 parallel discussions)

2.40Open Space session 2 (again, can accommodate at least 10 discussions, more if needed)

3.2060 second feedback from each Open Space discussion

4.00 Formal close but venue remains staffed and catered so participants can talk, plan, and plot.

Join the conversation on twitter with #cypquality. Follow the Arts Council at @ace_national