Creative Partnerships begins with the needs of young people and their schools. It does not offer prepackaged solutions, although it has a wealth of experience on which to draw. Instead, it brings resources and expertise.

Creative Partnerships starts with the School Improvement Plan, which lays out the major priorities of each school. Sometimes it will help a school develop its plan, in other cases it will take aspects of the plan and work with the school to develop projects which address the issues identified. One project may address the poor speaking and listening skills in a primary school’s reception class. Another may explore how the geography curriculum can be made more attractive to young people at key stage 3. There are projects which have focused entirely on re-engaging a small group of disaffected boys in Year 11, whose behaviour is affecting the aspiration and performance of the whole year.

In all cases, Creative Partnerships will ensure that teachers have the opportunity to plan in depth and where necessary the time and resources to undertake further research. Working with the school, Creative Partnerships will identify appropriate creative practitioners and recruit them to work on the project. It will provide training to both teaching staff and creative practitioners to prepare them for working together.

Once the project is completed, Creative Partnerships encourages thoughtful evaluation and reflection, and will use the experience to revisit the School Improvement Plan. Often it will trigger changes to the plan as new priorities emerge from the experience.

Inevitably, this process generates new ideas, projects and approaches, each more ambitious than the last. Again, careful planning, research, training and the identification of appropriate practitioners take place. At this level, projects may include a primary school creating a curriculum around a single theme engaging every child and every teacher for a whole year, or a secondary school collapsing its entire curriculum for Year 7 into a single subject over which the English, History, Languages, Maths, Science and Art teachers collaborate to generate and deliver a coherent multilayered curriculum.

At the heart of this process lie long-term relationships between lead creative practitioners and schools. Creative practitioners bring a new approach. They have different expectations of young people and when these are set high, the children rise to the challenge, frequently to the astonishment of their teachers. They bring a different language and a different practice, which stretches and challenges the teaching staff and young people. The creative practitioners however also derive great benefit. They too are challenged, encouraged to develop new practices and exposed to new voices and different world views. Their personal practice is enriched.

'Creative Partnerships is the best thing to happen to this school in the ten years I have been teaching here - the learning and the teaching is of the highest standards ever. It is helping to develop stronger links between parents, children, staff and creative partners. Everyone is becoming so interested in what the children are achieving and how they are learning.'
Advanced Skills Teacher, Priory School, Slough

'This experience has renewed my faith in working with schools and teachers – of the potential and impact of creative learning delivered through meaningful partnerships. It’s afforded me the opportunity to really reflect upon my practice, and to gain a much greater understanding of the challenges and issues in schools.  We will all be taking this learning back to other organisations with whom we work.'
Graham Urlwin, Artist and consultant, Manchester and Salford

'The resources are well targeted and teachers have picked up lots of ideas.  It’s nice to make contact on our home ground rather than to have to go to these organisations.  Teachers are more aware of what these creative partners have to offer and will be in touch in the future.'
Sue Kerwin, Deputy Head, St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Primary School, Liverpool