I enjoyed returning to Royal Opera House Leaders for Impact programme on Friday to join a panel about leading cultural education. Marvellously this programme is now into its sixth year; I was part of Generation 4, joining the programme as I started a new role in Bexley. The timing was ideal; I welcomed the collegiality and support as I built a new role in a small trust. Generation 4 was delivered entirely online, and looking back it didn’t feel in any way peculiar to get to know educators and the programme team through Zoom. It’s a testament to the quality of the programme that it could pivot to the digital realm with such ease, and it’s a mark of the programme design that it can still achieve such impact regardless of the delivery method. I meant every word I shared in the evaluation that it really was life-changing; so many of the cohort went on to change roles, and change their lives, in creative and empowering ways.
Back to Generation 6. The panel joined at the end of day one, and we were invited to share our current challenges in leading cultural education. I’m in a different role since the LFI programme, but since this role is the third iteration for me of a cultural education role I could see some themes emerging. When I was preparing my provocation, this themes were coalescing around three: people, place and purpose.
People matter hugely to me. I believe people want to be successful and have the potential to do great things. Getting to know the people – staff, partners, parents, carers, families, etc – is vital. They all bring expertise, experience and needs. In every role I’ve had as a cultural education leader I started with the people: understand where they are, what they believe and what they need next. I make plans to support colleagues to grow into their next steps, consider the partners that are distinctive and address issues and get to know the needs and priorities of leaders. People make culture,
Place is vital. I’m a fan of the hyper local. I want to meet every creative in the neighbourhood; what makes this area special? And this connects to people, as there’ll be people/communities that make a place special. How do we bring these stories of the people in place to life? Through arts and culture. I also need to understand the places where culture happens beyond the school gates, and the places that might host our work and the places that might want to visit and be hosted by us.
People and place lead me to purpose. Once I understand the people and place my purpose strengthens. And that purpose that might driven by the people, and the needs of the place, as much as my understanding of what our pupils will need. Upon reflection of my three recent roles my purpose remains fairly consistent: reaching those most likely to miss out on cultural education. Research and evidence show certain people don’t access arts and culture in the same ways as others. My purpose is to reach them. Research and evidence show some people don’t progress in arts and culture; my purpose is to ensure progression routes exist for them.
My provocation to the panel on Friday was think deeply about who is missing out. And then think about the place in your school where you can ensure they don’t miss anything: the curriculum. The curriculum is a social justice issue. The curriculum can’t be left to chance as no child deserves to miss out on a high-quality, beautifully curated and designed curriculum in arts and culture. We know lots of cultural engagement happens beyond the boundaries of the curriculum, and perhaps on the peripheries of the school day. But we must start with the curriculum: it’s the space where we meet every child. If we focus our energies on the spaces where children opt in and out, we might miss them. Start with the taught curriculum and make that beautifully brilliant for every child. Arts and cultural engagement can grow from there knowing our purpose is achieved: no child is missing out.
Steven Berryman 