Along with the generous support of Artswork, the Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership has been holding conversations with teachers around the Island about how they feel culture can support them and their students in the classroom.
Seventeen interviews, encompassing twenty one Island school sites have now taken place with Primary and Secondary school leaders. These conversations have illuminated a range of priorities and desires, as well as some of the barriers connected to their consumption of cultural provision.
Schools especially expressed interest in provision which would assist in the delivery of an inclusive curriculum which highlights authentic representation, diversity, identities and beliefs. They spoke of wanting to create a sense of ‘awe and wonder’ which would inspire and open young people’s eyes to potential career pathways and opportunities they may not have previously considered, and would additionally fight apathy and reintroduce the importance of community.
It was noted that provision must support core skills in literacy and numeracy and, above all, align closely to their curriculum as time is both precious and expensive. This limitation in terms of time was listed as one of the most significant barriers to cultural provision in the classroom, as well as access to transport.
Workshops are now taking place with educators to delve further into how the future of cross-curricular cultural provision might, ideally, look. Continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers has already been identified as a high priority, and more findings and information will follow in the coming months.
This work will inform the future programme of the Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership and development of their cultural strategy.
A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved with this fantastic project!
