Creative Manifesto Launch

Four members of staff and eight students, aged 11 to 18, attended the launch of the Manifesto for a Creative Britain today at Tate Modern. Following speeches by Nick Serota and Paul Collard, young people from across the country presented the first ten manifesto points. We were all then invited to vote for two additional points. Here is the initial list of ten points:

1. We want less formality in schools and more creativity in the classroom

2. Change the curriculum so that our subjects reflect our lives

3. Create spaces where we can vent our creativity

4. Let us have opportunities to take risks so that we are not afraid to try new things

5. We need mentoring to help us get into the creative industries. We don't know how it works

6. We need to gain confidence in ourselves

7. Allow us to learn from each other, to get fresh ideas from cultures other than just our own. We want to mix it up

8. We need it to be easier to use the internet in school

9. Invest money in us because we are the future

10. We are prepared to start at the bottom to make our way up

The two additional points were (as far as I can remember):

11. We want to have the choice between coursework and exams

12. We want to have the things we do outside school accredited

Andy Burnham, minister for Culture, responded to the manifesto and answered questions from the floor. He was keen to give the impression that the government took the ideas seriously and made a commitment to providing formal feedback. He was a little lost for words a couple of times in the face of fairly direct questions. One person asked him why the government was persisting with a national curriculum which was felt by many to restrict creativity. Surprisingly, he didn't seem aware of the new national curriculum framework which actively promotes creative thinking both in the PLTS (Personal Learning and Thinking Skills) and the curriculum dimensions. 

We came away feeling that the new manifesto might provide us with an opportunity to undertake a similar exercise in school. Our aim now is to get the young people to report back at a staff meeting about creativity next week and announce a plan to create a Manifesto for a Creative Tallis over the coming months. Hopefully this will have a direct impact on our thinking about Key Stage 3 reforms.